


Trails

by ThatWaxLion



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Adventure, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Captivity, F/M, Protective Malcolm Bright, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, Strained Friendships, Team Bonding, Team Dynamics, Teambuilding, Trust Issues, Unresolved Romantic Tension, capable Dani Powell, capable Malcolm Bright, hurt Dani, which may or may not be resolved by the end of this fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:53:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 31,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24507976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatWaxLion/pseuds/ThatWaxLion
Summary: The quiet, once something they could comfortably share, was now awkward, heavy and filled with unspoken questions.She chewed the inside of her cheek, in futile attempt to vaporize the words crawling up in her throat.“Why did you call JT and your lawyer that night and why…not me?”Bright dropped his chin, gazing down at his hands. The question was hanging over his head for five months now and he felt strangely relieved that finally, she had hit him with it.---------After the Endicott showdown, the group relationships have been strained and the unit is sent on an overnight team-building hiking trip. It's all fun and games...until it really isn't anymore.Set ca. 5 months after the season finale.
Relationships: Dani Powell & Edrisa Tanaka, Dani Powell & JT Tarmel, Edrisa Tanaka & JT Tarmel, Malcolm Bright & Dani Powell, Malcolm Bright & Edrisa Tanaka, Malcolm Bright/Dani Powell
Comments: 39
Kudos: 127





	1. It's All Fun and Games

**Author's Note:**

> I really try to get better at tenses, but I guess my mantra will forever be 'Fail again. Fail Better'. SORRY! Hope you enjoy nevertheless.

_Rain is expected to return this Friday after an unusually warm October week in the Tri-State. Chance of showers with a high of 68 - -_

Suddenly, Dani Powell felt a jolt of pain as her right shin bumped into the file cabinet, jerking her head from the screen of her phone.

„Shit,” she hissed, nearly spilling her coffee on her blouse while instinctively yanking her foot away. As she managed to balance her NYPD mug in her hand while elevating the weight from her right foot, the two manila folders tucked under her right arm landed with a loud thud on the floor.

“Need a hand?”

She rolled her eyes because she didn’t have to look up to see Bright’s teasing smile; she knew it was plastered on his face, never passing on an opportunity to comment on her physical multitasking shortcomings, even though Dani firmly believed that ninety percent of the time it worked. If executed well, that is.

“Thanks, I got it.”

But Bright was already crouching down the floor in his crisp dark blue suit, gathering scattered papers and photos. Once he collected each stray document, he held them out for her to grab, being very much aware that both her hands were full. He smirked.

“Oh, just say it.” Dani puffed.

“Hey, I’m just glad you don’t do this while I’m in your passenger’s seat.” He raised his arms in mock-defense.

“One more comment and we’ll see about that,” she muttered only half-teasingly as she passed him and entered the conference room. She flopped down in the nearest chair, nodded to JT, who was sitting across the table, lazily scrolling on his phone. Bright paced around the white board, already trying to get a hint on what to expect from their morning briefing.

“Oh yay, the whole team is here!” Edrisa’s excited voice filled the dark greyish room with unusual lightness, as the petite medical examiner rushed inside, brushing carefully and unnecessarily close past Bright and picking a spot closest to the whiteboard.

“Yay indeed.” Gil shut the door close behind him, slammed down a blue folder on the desk and stepped to the whiteboard, next to Bright. “Sit down kid.”

Bright shrugged and took the seat between JT and Edrisa, glancing briefly at Dani, not so much deliberately, more out of habit.

The Lieutenant looked at them for a moment. _Oh, this will be fun._

“So, what do we got?” Bright asked, eagerly looking at Gil.

“This briefing is not about a new case.”

Now, he had their attention. All eyes were suddenly torn from their phones, hair curls and pens and were looking at him slightly confused.

“In light of recent events -” he cleared his throat and glanced briefly at Bright, who slightly dipped his chin “- Personnel believes the Unit needs a mental…regrouping.” He paused, letting out a sigh. “In order to maintain the performance and level of productivity that is desired, we are directed to undertake a teambuilding.”

His last word hung heavily in the air and four confused pair of eyes were staring at him in slight disbelief, waiting for him to continue.

“And I agreed. As directed by Personnel, we will go on a two-day hiking trip to the Catskills, execute an outdoor teambuilding planned and put together by Human Resources -“

“No,” JT said firmly, already glancing back at his phone.

“Absolutely not.” Dani shook her head.

“I love camping!” Edrisa squeaked eagerly.

Bright just raised his eyebrow in amusement.

“Oh I’m sorry ” - Gil put his hand on his chest in mock-apology - “Was I giving you the wrong impression that this was optional?” He narrowed his eyes at JT and Dani, then looked at Edrisa and nodded appreciatively in her direction. “That’s the team spirit, Edrisa.”

The medical examiner smiled sheepishly, being fully aware that she didn’t score any points with the team just then.

Gil continued, “We will leave on Thursday morning and be back by Friday evening. Personnel will provide us camping gear, but I’ll give you the list of essentials you need to pack.”

“This is insane,” Dani muttered, not exactly under her breath.

JT shook his head. “I can’t go boss, Tally’s due in two weeks. I can’t leave her.”

Gil folded his arms across his chest. “We are heading to Hunter Mountain. That’s a two-and-a-half-hour car ride away and an additional three by hiking. If Tally goes into labor, you’ll have plenty of time to get back to the city before the fun part starts. If anything happens, we all have our phones and we’ll have a satellite phone in case we don’t have reception up there. You’re covered. Any other excuses you got?” He eyed his team.

Dani groaned in frustration, earning a chuckle from Bright. She narrowed her eyes at him threateningly.

“And why are _you_ looking so smug?” The menacing tone of her voice was unmistakable.

“Nothing, I’d just give about anything to see you guys camping together,” he snickered.

Dani crossed her arms and smiled viciously. “What makes you think you’re not coming?”

Bright looked at her surprised. “Me? I’m not officially NYPD. I’m merely a humble consultant, remember?”

“Oh, so you’re not coming?“ Edrisa asked, worry detectable in her tone.

“Oh, he’s coming.” Gil shot a glare at Bright that wiped the profiler’s grin off his face, earning a satisfied smirk from Dani in turn.

Bright shook his head vehemently. “I can’t. Even if I could…I couldn’t. You know about my sleeping, uh, irregularities,“ he cleared his throat, “I need my meds and my chains and these are hardly conditions that can be met on a camping trip.”

Gil rubbed his face tiredly. “You bring your meds and we’ll bring some ropes. We’ll take all necessary precautions. If we can handle multiple homicides, we can handle your nocturnal activities too. No excuses. You’re coming.”

Bright opened his mouth to protest but Gil’s look silenced him. The Lieutenant glanced around. “Any questions?”

“I still don’t get it,” Dani protested, “is there something wrong with our numbers? Why now? I mean, as far as I know, nothing has changed in our efficiency and clearance rates.” The frustration in her voice was still clearly palpable.

Gil let out a sigh. “It’s not exactly a secret that Bright had been framed for murder five months ago, that lead us to arresting him“ - Dani’s gaze dropped - “Which lead to me getting stabbed and Ainsley -“ he paused hesitatingly as he glanced at Bright, who was staring at the table in front of him, his expression unreadable “- ending up in Bellevue.”

His voice softened, “listen, I know how this sounds. But this is a direct order and it will impact your annual performance evaluation. We are going and that’s that.” He stepped back and grabbed his folder, pulling out four papers.

“Here’s the list of essentials to pack. See you tomorrow morning at seven. And Bright –“ he turned to the profiler and waved his hand in front of him“- you better pack your camping suits instead of your…homicide suits. Who knows,” he sighed, looking at the defeated faces in front of him, “this might turn out to be fun.”

With that, Gil left the room, his heavy steps echoing in the hallway.

The rest of the team sat in their chairs, defeated. 

JT let out a groan. “Bring booze.”

Three heads nodded slowly in unison.

\------

“For the last time, the Alien Bounty Hunter is not human, therefore, you totally mislead us JT! “ Edrisa’s shrill voice cut into the otherwise quiet and peaceful surroundings as she hopped out of the back seat of his SUV. The team split up with Gil and Bright riding in the Lieutenant’s car while Dani and Edrisa accompanied JT. To Gil’s mild surprise, they all managed to find the trailhead, just three miles from Tannersville and in just under three hours.

JT opened the trunk with a groan, grabbing their camping gear and backpacks, dropping them one by one on the ground. Dani grabbed hers and swung it over her shoulders, as she saw Gil’s car turning in the parking lot.

She took a deep breath from the mild, crystal clear air and felt strangely elevated. It’s been a while since she’d had the time and opportunity to go outdoors, and she just realized how much she had missed it. Not that she didn’t have any reservations about the upcoming two days, because deep down, she knew that Gil was right; the team did function good on a professional level, but ever since the showdown with Endicott, things have been…. strained. They were all still doing their best at work, but somehow, that comfortable shorthand they’ve had with each other was gone. No laughs, no smirks, no playful innuendos. Every interaction remained on a professional level and while they did get the job done, without being able to reach out to one other, the cases were more daunting, seemingly taking a heavier toll on each of them then before. In fact, the playful banter they had during that morning briefing was the first interaction amongst them that bore at least some resemblance to the way things were. _Before_.

The subtext of Gil’s speech was clear to her: they did have some trust issues as a team. And she wasn’t sure she was ready to face all of that. She had to admit that the fact they were going out and away from the precinct and were forced to function as a team outside their professional framework was both unnerving and exciting at the same time.

She brushed off a hair from her North Face zip pants and bumped her shoulder slightly to JT’s back. “Don’t argue with her. It’s useless and besides, she’s right,” she snickered.

“I kinda hope Tally’s going to labor today,” JT deadpanned, shooting a semi-teasing glare at her, “anything to avoid another round of Mr. X with you two.”

“You were playing Mr. X? Damn, I knew I should’ve come with you!” Bright shouted as he approached them and he glanced at her, his eyes quickly sweeping over her hiking outfit. For a brief moment, their eyes met, and Dani quickly readjusted the straps on her backpack.

Edrisa waved theatrically to greet the remaining two members of their team. Gil waved back, though slightly less energized. “Is that so?” he raised his eyebrow at Bright, “I thought you liked…no, scratch that: you _deserved_ the detailed description of my new car’s interiors, given the fact that you had a principal role in getting my previous one smashed.”

Bright held up his hands in peace. “It was…insightful”.

“Okay _team_ ” - Gil stressed the last word as he turned to them, finally all gathered in one place - “first order of business: the hiking trail. We have two options. We can either take the shorter route and chop off two miles, but there’s a 2,200 plus vertical ascent, so it’s pretty steep and rocky. Or, we can take the longer route, slightly gentler, but it’ll take an additional hour and a half. Up to you.”

“The sooner we’re there, the sooner we’ll get back,” JT grunted, “I vote for the short and steep.”

“Same,” Dani clicked her tongue.

Edrisa eagerly nodded. “I’m all in!”

Bright turned to Dani, his voice low. “What about your leg?” She glanced at him, slightly startled that he remembered the small incident from yesterday. Not the fact that he remembered, because, of course he did. She just rarely felt his attention to detail regarding her in the last couple of months. The hint of worry she detected in his tone made her chest tighten. She shook her head lightly. “That was nothing. Just a bump.”

“You sure Powell?” Gil looked at her questioningly. “This is not about scoring points. Not yet.”

Dani nodded. “What about you, boss? You sure you’re up for it?” She glanced worriedly at Gil’s torso. 

The Lieutenant waived his hand in dismissal. “I’m as good as new.” 

Bright’s hesitating look wandered from Gil to Dani, then slowly nodded too. “Sure. Let’s go.”

The five of them gathered their backpacks and camping gears and headed to the two impressive stone pillars signaling the starting point of their trail. Edrisa’s attention was drawn to a beautiful shed snakeskin on the ground, partially covered with leaves. She bent down to take a closer look, her enormous backpack nearly toppling over her. Without slowing down, Gil gently grabbed the backpack as he walked past by her, steadying Edrisa’s petite frame. She bolted upright and quickly readjusted her glasses, smiling enthusiastically at her teammates passing her by.

“Oh hey, do you guys know any hiking songs that we could sing while---”

“No.” the rest of the team said in unison.

xxxxxx

Gil was right; the mountain was surely not to be tackled lightly, even if they didn’t intend to go all the way up to the peak. But the view was breathtaking, as the whole area was blanketed with a variety of impressive trees, ranging from red oaks, sugar maples and evergreens, all displaying a palette of rich colors painted lush by the fall season. Soon the group stopped commenting on the scenery though, as they passed the remains of an old dam and the relentlessly steep climbing begun, making the rest of their hike a continuous upward slope without any level stretches.

They could barely breathe, let alone have mundane chitchat. Even Edrisa gave up detailing her latest autopsy adventures and resigned to occasionally hum some old country tunes. Dani could feel the cold sweat trickling down her spine as she tensed her muscles, ignoring the uncomfortable tingling in her right shin and just gritted her teeth, pushing forward on the steep rocks. Occasionally, she found Bright next to her, sometimes reaching out to steady her when she momentarily lost her balance on a slippery rock. She would have never admitted it out loud, but she was grateful for his unobtrusive support.

For a while, the only sound they were hearing was their own heavy breathing and the occasional cracks of branches under the fallen leaves. Finally, after about an hour and a half of their ruthless ascent, they reached a small, relatively flat clearing with the 3500’ altitude sign that marked their stop, being the last point where camping and open fire was permitted.

“Alright, everybody rest,” Gil exhaled, dropping his extra weight of camp gear and backpack.

“Thank God,” JT grumbled as he basically crashed down on the ground, exhausted. Dani wiped the sweat of her forehead and gulped down the water from her bottle, offering some to Bright who gratefully accepted, his cheeks flush. For a while, they all just sat on the ground, drained, trying to regroup. Edrisa flopped down flat on her back, with her eyes closed, still gasping for air. Bright lightly touched her shoulder.

“You okay Edrisa?” he asked with slight concern.

Edrisa turned her head to him and smiled appreciatively, still not opening her eyes. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she panted, “uhm…I think there’s a reason you guys are in the field and I’m, well, down in the morgue. This was…exhilarating, but definitely way out of my comfort zone.”

Bright chuckled. “I think we all left that behind about two thousand feet ago.”

As Dani observed the affectionate moment between them from the corner of her eye, she felt a slight twinge in her chest, unable to exactly define what caused it. Or, rather, unwilling to.

“Speaking of comfort zones”- Gil cleared his throat - “It’s time to set up camp. Which, coincidentally, happens to be our very first teambuilding exercise too.“ He ignored the glares from his team and pulled out a scrambled paper from his backpack pocket and started to read out loud.

“ _Blindfold Tent Pitching is a great way to illustrate the importance of communication, collaboration and seeing a job through from inception to completion. The teams will be tasked with the job of setting up a tent. Here's the twist; one of the team members will be blindfolded and they'll have to put the tent up with their vision blocked. Using their ingenuity, resourcefulness, verbal communication, logical thinking and observation skills, the team leader will direct the blindfolded tent builder. Blindfold tent pitching is a fun and illuminating team building activity that will break down barriers and bond a group quickly.”_ A satisfied smile spread slowly across Gil’s face as he folded back the paper and looked at the group, blinking obtusely back at him.

“Gil, you don’t have to do this. We get the idea.” Bright spoke up first, trying to reason with him. “We are aware of the importance of communication and collaboration. Let’s just put up the tent and deduct the possible conclusions of this game.” JT, Edrisa and Dani nodded in unison.

“Oh, but I _want_ to do this.” Gil smiled sweetly and lined up the three tent packs. “Also, I’m very glad you’re on the same page with each other. This will make the bonding oh so quicker.” He could barely suppress his laughter.

Dani tilted her head, frowning, “umm, boss. There are only three tents. Where are the other two?”

“I’m glad you asked, Powell.” Gil coughed, trying to conceal his squeal but failing miserably “They’re nowhere. These are two-man tents – “

“ _Hell_ no.” JT shook his head vehemently, while Dani sighed in frustration.

“Absolutely not.” Bright protested.

Edrisa only blinked, turned her head from Bright to Gil and back. “I’m sorry what?”

“Since we have to get back and, you know, eventually start solving crimes again, I suggest the two teams will do this simultaneously. You decide which one of you will be blindfolded and who will do the sweet-talking.” Gil tossed the two tent bags in their direction.

JT groaned and grabbed one bag, pointing a finger at Bright. “I’ve done this a couple of times. I’ll do the pitching and you do the talking. Just point me to the things and I’ll know what to do. Don’t try to overtalk it.”

“Yeah, because why would you care to listen even if I’m telling the truth, right?” Bright snapped.

Dani and JT jerked their heads to his uncharacteristically irritated comeback, Gil also noticing the sudden mood shift. Bright clenched his jaw, then smiled tightly. “What I mean is – sure, _roomie_.”

Dani tried to search his gaze but he already turned away. She hesitatingly opened her mouth, then changed her mind and turned to Edrisa.

“Edrisa, have you ever pitched a tent?”

“Umm, no, as of today, I haven’t,” she squinted nervously.

Dani ran her fingers swiftly through her hair and nodded. “It’s okay. I have. So, why don’t you try to describe the parts in detail and I’ll figure out what you mean and then try to assemble the parts. It’ll be like a…guessing game. Sounds good?”

Edrisa nodded vehemently. “Yeah, great! Sounds fun!”

Dani patted her back encouragingly, then quickly scanned the area for an ideal spot to set up the tent.

“Okay then!” Gil rubbed his hands, almost giddy with anticipation.

Dani couldn’t help but smile a little. At least their boss was enjoying this thoroughly, as he handed a piece of cloth to Edrisa and Bright respectively. The profiler fastened it swiftly around JT’s eyes, tying a knot a little too tightly perhaps. JT winced but said nothing.

“Ready…go!” Gil shouted.

Bright quickly switched to his energetic profiler mode. “Okay JT, grab the bag, it’s right next to your left foot and pull out the groundsheet.” JT fumbled inside the bag and quickly yanked out the sheet and spread it out on the ground. “Now find the doors and zip it close – “

“I know what to do with it just point me in the damn direction!” JT shouted.

“Dani, there’s a pole sticking out of the bag, the one that looks like – “ Edrisa frantically gestured, then quickly realized that any visual support is useless “- ummm, that _feels_ like Radagast’s wand…actually, no, like, uh, Gandalf’s, but, like, half its size!”

Dani stopped short, rubbing her forehead in frustration.

“Okay, now slip the poles through the sleeves,” Bright ordered firmly, “about an inch left from where you’re holding it.” JT found the first sleeve and quickly slipped the pole through it.

“Edrisa, where’s the other pole? The…the Chaplin stick?” Dani urged the medical examiner, who was pacing up and down in a frenzy in front of her.

“It’s now about thirty inches from your left foot,” she shouted, unnecessarily loud as she was standing about two feet away from her. Dani blindly fumbled on the ground, finally grabbing the pole. “Okay, great! Now we need to find the sleeves. We’re doing good Edrisa!” she tried to cheer her up as she sensed the other woman is quite possibly near of a mental breakdown.

“Secure the fly to the tent body. It’s right behind you.” JT quickly turned around, and grabbed the last remaining piece with one hand, while holding the nearly assorted tent body in his other. After a few unsuccessful attempts and expletives muttered not quite under his breath, he finally managed to cover the body with the fly and successfully secured it to it.

“Now start with the stake-out in the left corner.” With Bright’s brisk instructions, JT neatly staked out the corners and attached the stakes to other points, promptly finishing the setup.

He teared the blindfold from his eyes and looked at the tent. To their surprise, it looked decent. He raised an eyebrow at Bright, holding up his palm for a high five and Bright slapped it.

“Who knew?” JT mumbled, slightly impressed.

“I did. My father was quite the avid camper, as you might all remember.”

JT smirked and nodded, then pointed towards Dani and Edrisa. “I wanna have front row seats for this.”

Bright looked in their direction and a genuine smile spread across his face. It was, indeed, a sight for sore eyes, to watch Dani trying desperately to decipher Edrisa’s obscure metaphors, while the latter was hopping up and down in front of her, shouting in anguish. Finally, after an additional twenty minutes of their award worthy comedy act, Dani managed to stake out the last corner and tuck in the ground cloth, or, as Edrisa put it, the ‘burial shroud’, and she could finally rip off her blinder to inspect their assessment. Much to her (and the rest of the team’s) genuine surprise, the tent looked like…a tent. She leaned in to take a closer look on the staked-out corners but nearly fell over as Edrisa practically flew in her arms, hugging her tight.

“I can’t believe we did it!” she shrieked enthusiastically. “I’ve never set up a tent in my life!” Her frenzy was contagious and Dani found herself laughing wholeheartedly, hugging her back. “I actually can’t believe either.”

“I gotta say, both teams did good. Powell and Dr. Tanaka score extra points for their… original execution,” Gil laughed. Bright and JT shook their heads good-naturedly.

“I believe you could get a prime-time slot with this act,” Bright smirked and bowed his head, glancing from Edrisa to Dani. He realized he hasn’t seen her so untroubled, at ease in a long time. Her cheeks were flush from the adrenaline and laughter, and her ponytail loosened, letting some wild curls escape and framed her gleaming face. His gaze lingered, and he caught her glancing back at him, her laughter now transformed into a soft smile. He quickly glanced away, unable to quite profile his own reaction.

After making sure both tents were indeed functional, they helped Gil setting up his own and then gathered around the fire ring in the middle of the clearing to have a late lunch.

The sun was already gliding low on the skyline by the time they checked off another two of the teambuilding tasks on Gil’s list – promptly refusing to do one that was titled ‘The Junkyard Project’, for which the Lieutenant couldn’t really blame them.

They started building the campfire and as the sun dropped behind the mountains, along with several degrees in temperature, they welcomed the warmth of the dancing flames.

They settled around the fire, staring into the flames and talked quietly, but mostly just listened to the occasional cracks of the flames, the distant howl of coyotes and the faint clattering sounds coming from under the leaves. They appreciated the stillness and warm peacefulness that encompassed them – something they rarely experienced amidst the constant noise of the rapidly pulsing city, and almost never together.

“We have one last task for today folks,” Gil broke the silence, as he folded out the paper which the team grew quite resentful of. “This one is called ‘Winner-Loser’.”

The group exchanged looks of mild disdain as Gil cleared his throat.

_“One team member shares something negative that happened in their life with the group. It can be a personal or work-related memory, but it has to be true. Then another member of the group discusses the same experience again, but focuses only on the positive aspects, helping to explore the silver lining of the bad experience. Afterward, the team member providing the support will share their negative experience, to which another participant responds, and so on, until we go full circle. The objective of this exercise is for participants to discover how to reframe negative situations into learning experiences together.”_

Gil stared at his paper for a couple of seconds, a soft sigh escaping his lips as he quietly folded back the paper.

“I suggest we bring out the booze for this one,” JT let out an aggravated sigh.

Bright bolted up, “On it!” and he quickly disappeared in their tent, reemerging with a bottle.

“Glenfarclas 40, alright bro!” JT nodded in appreciation as he tapped a finger on the bottle of the luxurious single malt scotch.

“Who wants to start?” Gil asked, searching the uneasy looks of his team. His question was met with deafening silence. “Alright JT, pass the bottle.”

JT did as he was told and Gil took a long swig from the whiskey, clicking his tongue as the hot liquid burned his throat. He coughed.

“This happened a lifetime ago, I was just promoted to Lieutenant. I was still fairly green and safe to say, I had no idea what I was doing.” He paused for a moment, his gaze wandering off in the flames. The rest of the group was watching him intently. “I had a young guy, barely 22 on my team then. His name was Casey Willbrook. Casey was very promising, quick-witted, eager to learn, with exceptionally good intuitions. He showed the most promise among his team and with a mind like that, he could’ve easily become a Captain, if he ever wanted to. But Casey…had quite the childhood.” His glance slipped to Bright, whose eyes were fixed on him. “Never knew his father, and her mother was a drug addict and highly abusive, and eventually CPS had to step in, and he landed in foster care. Even so, Casey managed to get decent grades, graduated, went to college and then passed his civil service exam and JST test with flying colors. He was a real success story with turning his life around like that and NYPD loved that. We all did. And I sort of became his mentor, I was pulled in by his tragic backstory and thought I can offer him guidance. And it seemed to me that my word meant something to him. But then…the problems started.”

He hesitated for a moment and raised the bottle to take another gulp.

“He started to act out while on duty, became verbally and sometimes physically aggressive with suspects and even more so with identified perps. Many times, I tried to talk to him. I warned him that his behavior will impact his career at the department. And every time we had this discussion, he always said ‘the guy deserved it.’ “

Gil rubbed his face, finding it increasingly difficult to continue. “There were so many red flags. Still, I stood by him. His clearance rates were excellent. He was exceptionally skilled. So I-“ he bit down on his lower lip “-I let it slide. So what if his methods were a little rough, I told myself. He was still excellent at his job. Then one day, of course, he went too far and had beaten a suspect to pulp. Obviously, no paperwork could carry that. I had to let him go.” He sighed, glancing at his hands. The rest of the team unconsciously held their breath.

“He begged me to give him another chance to prove himself. But I was scared shitless. I was a Lieutenant and couldn’t afford to have a high-risk member on my team. Besides, I had no choice, it was protocol. I gave him a name and phone number of a good psychiatrist. But then after a while, I simply ignored his calls, because I hoped…hell, I even _believed_ that if he gets a clean cut from us, he might be able to move on. Turned out he couldn’t. A couple of weeks after he was fired, I got the news from New York-Presbyterian that he overdosed. They informed me that I was his emergency contact.” He chocked on his last words.

“If I hadn’t overlooked the red flags, if I hadn’t been playing the role of the kind and forgiving mentor, he might still be alive. If I had drawn the line sooner for him…things would have not escalated.”

He took one last sip from the whiskey and handed it back to JT. For a while, no one spoke. They all stole glances at Gil, who was glaring in the flames, lost in his thoughts.

“It’s precisely because you hadn’t drawn the line in the first place that you granted him a lifeline over and over again,” Bright spoke up softly, the rest of team turning their heads to him. “Children with a history of abuse and a poor relationship with their mother are always at the risk of displaying aggressive behavior themselves even later in their lives, we know that. He was a ticking time bomb, but his focus on the job, and your diligence was able to contain his tendencies for a while. Based on what you’ve told us, against all odds, Casey managed to function pretty well…until he couldn’t. But no background of deprivation or abuse makes people to be unable to resist their impulses or temptations. They always have a choice.”

Bright looked into Gil’s eyes. “And Casey chose to ignore your lifeline. It was his choice, Gil. And then you drew the line to protect your team and his possible future victims. Because most likely, he would’ve ended up hurting someone else, if he hadn’t taken his own life. In my understanding, you granted him an opportunity to stay on a productive course and then you granted him the chance to start new. He chose not to. I know you feel responsible and I know this won’t change no matter what we tell you, but – it was not your fault he couldn’t be saved.”

Gil nodded slowly, his glance lost in the flames. Nobody spoke for a while, until Bright cleared his throat again. “Well, I guess it’s my turn now.” A nervous laughter escaped his throat.

“Wait – I think we all need a drink before this.” The rest of the team snickered appreciatively as JT snatched the bottle from Bright’s hands, easing the tension that fell upon them. They all took a big gulp from the whiskey and JT handed it back to Bright, who took a long sip. The group fidgeted in their positions, until Bright spoke up, his gaze fixed on the bottle in his hands.

“So…I guess it’s safe to say that no one bet their money on Ainsley being the second member of the Whitly family to wind up in a psychiatric ward,” he chuckled dryly, his gaze not torn from the bottle, “problem is, me neither.” He paused, bringing the bottle to his lips again.

Dani glanced down at his free hand, and, sure enough, she noticed the all too familiar tremble. Not so long ago, she would have put her hand on his to still him, just because it was a thing she did for her friend. But not so much these days. Her heart sank a little.

“It’s like the saying goes, you can’t see the forest for the trees,” he continued in a low voice, “it’s just so ironic, so cliché even, that even though I’m supposed to be an expert in analyzing the psychological behavior of a criminal, I couldn’t see this one coming. Ever since my father was arrested, I got so preoccupied with him and his… legacy bestowed upon _me_ that I never considered what went down in Ainsley back then and all through the years that led to her slitting Endicott’s throat.” He chocked, quickly downing another gulp from the whiskey.

The group watched him, anxiously listening to every word. “I guess, my negative experience could be summed up in being a profiler who couldn’t see what was going on right under his nose and couldn’t save her sister from killing someone.” He looked up at the team with a sarcastic smile that quickly faded. His gaze slipped down to the bottle again. Edrisa, sitting next to him, gently squeezed his arm in reassurance. Bright just nodded slightly, never looking up.

Dani quickly blinked away and before she knew it, she heard herself speak up. “I’m not a profiler Bright. But I sure as hell know that no kid has the responsibility to be able to decipher clues that were or weren’t there.”

Bright’s head snapped up, looking at her.

“You were ten. No one should have experienced what you did. You had a whole lot of trauma to deal with yourself and you were pretty much left alone to your own devices to cope. And unfortunately, Ainsley was, too,” she said quietly, looking directly into his eyes, “it was never your job to profile your sister, to…to guess what’s going on inside her head through the years and to help her cope. This is a parent’s job. And you keep telling us that a profiler can’t predict future violence, even if the clues are there. But it wasn’t your job to look for them, because you needed to look after yourself. I know you love your sister and I know you wanted to keep her from harm, and I think you’re doing a hell of a job. You’ve always tried to protect her, but she couldn’t be protected from your father’s legacy, because you weren’t either. No one protected you.”

She wished she could hold his hand just now, as it was shaking more violently. Instead, she held his gaze and desperately tried to make him understand. His nearly translucent eyes turned a shade darker and a ghost of a smile touched his lips. A silent thank you.

Bright passed the bottle and Dani quickly took a sip, trying to gather some courage before her turn.

“It was my very first case with JT,” she started, her gaze slipping to her partner. JT slightly shook his head. The interaction didn’t go unnoticed by Bright, who watched them curiously, always eager to learn about their past, a fragment of their story he wasn’t entitled to before.

“We were after a twenty-something punk, raping and killing sorority girls around town,” Dani continued, fidgeting with her delicate rings on her finger. “We finally got a lead and were tracking him down at the East Campus. JT and I were the fastest to catch up on him and JT tackled him to the ground. The guy was of pretty small build, so no chance he could take on JT, but he was high on God-knows-what and he was fighting pretty hard.”

“Not that hard,” JT mumbled.

“Anyway,” Dani rolled her eyes at him, “I saw him reaching into his back pocket. We knew he could be armed. And I had a clear shot of him, I was standing pretty close.” She swallowed hard. “But…I…hesitated. I could’ve taken him down, he was assaulting an officer, my partner. And I held the gun, I aimed… but for some stupid shit reason I just couldn’t pull the trigger, my hands were shaking so badly Bright would’ve been impressed,“ she snickered half-heartedly, Bright offering a small smile, intently listening to her.

“So…sure enough, the guy pulled out a knife and stabbed JT in his side.” Dani lowered her gaze, unable to look at JT. “JT managed to push him away, I think, and we heard a shot, another officer took the guy down. And all the while, I was just standing there, like a freakin’ statue, unable to pull the damn trigger myself.” Her hollow laughter made their team members’ heart sink. She ran a finger through her hair. “I thought, this is it, I’m out, done, because no cop would’ve let this happen. But somehow, I was kept on the team. And JT“ - she glanced at him - “never brought it up. I apologized and he…you said it’s ‘part of the business’. Like it’s no big deal. When you could’ve just requested a partner switch or something, I don’t know….get me out of the picture. But you didn’t. And you never treated me differently after then either. So, yeah,” she bit down on her lip, “ I guess I wanted to say, thanks. For giving me another chance at being your partner even if you didn’t have to.”

JT slightly nodded in her direction, humming. After Dani passed the bottle to him, he took a gulp and cleared his throat. “I wanna get to the real drinking session of the evening as soon as possible, so I’ll make a 2 in 1 round,” he declared, earning some not-quite-subtle eyerolls from Gil and Dani.

“Anyway. I got quite a similar story. It happened a while ago. We were tracking down this rapist and killer dude who was after college girls.” Dani’s head jerked up and she glared at him, JT seemingly ignoring her, fumbling with the bottle. “We located him at East Campus and obviously, I was the fastest to catch up on him,” he snickered, “I pinned his weak ass down, because I could and because – I was a class A idiot. We knew this dude’s MO, we knew he was probably armed but my cocky self didn’t give a damn. I wanted to take him out and ignored all protocol and my better judgement. So, sure enough, I got what I deserved.“ He looked at Dani, his expression uncharacteristically soft. “You were green, sure, but I was just simply dumb. And no, none of this was your fault Powell. I should’ve known better and I didn’t care. And when I told you it was no big deal, I kinda ignored your side of the story. I never brought it up because I was ashamed and I should’ve told you that you not being able to shoot doesn’t mean you’re a bad cop, it means you have some reservations to shoot another human being, whatever crap of a human being that dude is. I put you in this position and then all I could tell you was ‘it’s no biggie’. Sorry for that.”

He raised the bottle in her direction. Dani just nodded and smiled warmly.

Gil smiled. _Maybe this team building wasn’t Personnel’s worst idea yet._

“Okay, wow,” Edrisa spoke up, clearly touched by JT’s admission. “First of all, I’m no cop and maybe I should know the protocol better, but I’m grateful in the name of all youngish women around town that you actually took that guy down. I mean, who knows, if it weren’t for you, maybe he could’ve escaped and killed other girls, too.” She pushed back her glasses. “But also, I think it’s incredibly sweet you didn’t give a hard time to Dani about the whole thing. Even if for the wrong reasons. You gave her another chance as your partner though you barely knew her, not that she did anything wrong, but still… that’s trust. So, I think there’s really nothing wrong with your gut instinct. This story only shows that even if you act like a complete jerk sometimes, you’re a great colleague and friend.” She smiled sweetly at JT, who, unable to react in proper fashion, just murmured something under his breath, but the way he fumbled with the bottle label it was obvious he heard everything Edrisa said and listened to her intently.

“Okay, so it’s my turn to wrap this up, right?” Edrisa laughed nervously, as her hand grabbed the bottle JT was holding out for her. She took several big gulps then burst out coughing uncontrollably. A quiet chuckle escaped Dani’s lips. Edrisa wasn’t a seasoned drinker, that was apparent.

Finally, the medical examiner calmed her throat a little as she tried to tuck the same dark strand behind her ear multiple times, unsuccessfully.

“I’ve got a lot of botched autopsy stories from my early days to tell, like, _a lot_ ,” she snickered, Gil’s eyebrows raising slightly, but he remained quiet. “But I figured today that you aren’t really into those, so, I’m just going to tell you about my little brother, Kai.”

She nervously fidgeted with the bottle in her hand. “Kai was born with cerebral palsy, but, of course, he was only diagnosed later in his childhood. To those of you who don’t know, CP is a group of permanent movement disorders, with varying signs and symptoms. And Kai had a lot of them. He had umm…poor coordination, tremors, weak muscles, severe mobility impairment, respiratory difficulties, the whole package,“ she sputtered nervously, as if citing from a text book. The group silently watched her.

“But despite his body failing him in every way possible, he was the most cheerful person I knew. He just loved good jokes and stories. My parents…they did everything they could for him, they really did. All the doctor’s appointments, all the medications, the second and third and fourth opinions…they did everything they could to take the best care of him. But they were drained from the physical and mental exhaustion that his caretaking demanded, so it was up to me to try to make his life a little lighter and funnier.”

She gently smiled; her expression lost in the flames. “I used to make up stories about our neighbors and our dogs, just to cheer him up. And we had this thing…we used to watch the X-files together, because we were both obsessed and I always added my commentary to each episode and made up my own conspiracy theories and monsters of the week. Oh, he loved them so much. Then one day… he was eleven already, a small miracle he lived that long, given his severe condition…one day, we were re-watching ‘Tooms’, which was one of his favorite episodes and I made a joke about him apparently not eating liver enough or something…and he burst out in a hysterical laughter. That was always music to my ears, so I kinda went further with the joke and he laughed so hard…he could barely breathe. And then…he stopped breathing.” Her smile faded as she glanced down on her hands. The rest of the group didn’t make a sound.

“The time of death was 8:25, but I waited a full 30 minutes to call for mum and dad.” Edrisa’s voice was slightly shaking. “I just sat there and watched him. I knew I should probably shout for my parents the second I knew his respiratory functions were failing him, but I just kept hearing his voice, back when he could talk, that he wants to go with a smile on his face and he just wants his last moments to be…’peacefully hilarious’.”

She paused, a soft smile curving her lips, “and so I thought I was honoring him by giving him just that. And, of course, to this day, I ask myself what if…what if I called my parents sooner. What if he could’ve defied all odds and had lived longer. I guess we’ll never know.” She readjusted her glasses and gulped down the remaining contents of the bottle.

The group remained silent, absorbing what they’ve just heard. Dani felt a small piece of a puzzle falling in place; suddenly, so much made sense about Edrisa to her that previously didn’t. She felt the urge to get up and hug the petite medical examiner tightly, but she remained in her seat, unsure how she would react. Besides, she caught Bright gently squeezing Edrisa’s shoulder and she decided her support is probably further down her wishlist than his.

Gil cleared his throat. “That’s one of the bravest things anyone could do, Edrisa,” he said gently, searching her eyes. “You granted your brother his biggest wish and you did it selflessly. I know in my bones that if you thought he would’ve been better off by living longer, you would’ve done anything to keep him alive. But sometimes keeping someone alive is more for the… benefit of the loved ones, than for the dying one. I think in a way, you saved him.”

Edrisa smiled quietly and lowered her gaze to the bottle. She shook it, signaling its emptiness. “I think I can now grant JT’s biggest wish and officially close this section of the evening,” she laughed, a hint of sheepish nervousness still in her tone.

JT smiled and wiggled his eyebrows. “I think you and I will be very good friends by the end of this trip Dr. Tanaka.” He got up to retrieve another bottle.

For a while, they were just passing the bottle and remained silent. They stared into the flames, quietly processing what they’ve learned about each other, unconsciously huddling closer to each other around the fire.

Finally, Edrisa cleared her throat. “Another round of Mr.X?”

xxxxxxx

It was well past midnight and additional two bottles of whiskey when Gil finally called it a night and retreated to his tent, eventually followed by the rest of the team. Dani went to wash her face and brush her teeth by the nearby stream and by the time she got to their shared tent, Edrisa was already snuggled up in her sleeping bag and buried under another one, with only her nose sticking out. Dani shook her head slightly and laughed quietly.

“Fun fact: even though I work in a morgue, I sill can’t get used to the cold,” Edrisa mumbled, her teeth chattering.

“Hey, no judgement from me,” Dani said as she nestled into her own sleeping bag, silently thanking herself for putting in an additional wool sock in her bag before she left her apartment. It _was_ cold. She switched off her flashlight. For a while, she listened to Edrisa’s tossing and turning, then cleared her throat.

“I think we did great today. With this tent and all.”

Edrisa stopped her fidgeting and turned to her.

“Oh yeah, I think so too. This tent is kinda awesome!” she chirped enthusiastically, “and I’m SO glad you got all my Lord of the Rings references. That saved us a lot of time!”

 _Sure. All of them._ Dani snickered. “Yeah, but next time we bring a heating device.” She hesitated, then spoke up again, “sorry about your brother. He sounds like he was a terrific guy.”

“Thanks. He was, yeah. I wasn’t sure whether to tell you all this, you know, I never know when it’s oversharing or just sharing…but I figured I already told Malcolm about him, and besides, you were all sharing some pretty intense stories, so…yeah.”

 _She told Bright already_.

The questions she wanted to desperately ask were hanging from her lips, but she remained silent. Until she couldn’t.

“Hey, I noticed that, uh…you…you seem a lot… calmer around Bright,” she said in the most nonchalant tone she could muster, stuffing back all the inappropriate questions in her mind where they belonged. She heard Edrisa chuckle.

“Oh that…yeah. Well, after everything that happened, he needed a friend and we kinda bonded.”

Dani felt her chest tighten at her words. She waited for her to continue.

“It was fantastically weird for me at first, but I guess after a while I realized that we can really be there for each other. As friends. So yeah…my drooling stopped because I realized that’s never going to lead anywhere. We are too much alike,” she chuckled, “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I still adore him, but more platonically, like season two Scully and Mulder but without Scully’s skepticism and all the boiling sexual tension of the later seasons, you know?”

She didn’t exactly, but smiled in the darkness. She hummed in response.

“He misses you guys. All of you. It’s just that…I don’t think he knows how to get back to…uh, the way things were with you. I guess a lot had happened,” Edrisa added.

“Yeah. A lot,” Dani managed to say, lost in her thoughts. After a couple of minutes, she heard Edrisa’s sleepy voice again.

“I think the sleeping pill is kicking in about now, so…g’night Dani…” She was already drifting off.

“Good night,” Dani whispered.

She was staring up at the tent ceiling, unable to shut her eyes and drift off, too. Suddenly, she felt hot. Too hot. The sleeping bag was suffocating her. She waited a couple of minutes until she heard Edrisa’s light, steady snoring, signaling that she fell sound asleep, then quietly untangled herself from her covers, quickly reached for her softshell jacket, slipped back in her boots and carefully, without making too much sound, unzipped the tent. Her face was immediately hit by the cool breeze and she welcomed it. She slipped out and closed back the tent. She turned to the campfire ring in the middle of the clearing, where the flames were still burning, though much more tamed then a couple of hours ago. She swallowed hard and cleared her throat as she noticed his frame, sitting with his back to her.

“Can’t sleep? Or won’t?”

Bright turned his head to her as she sat down next to him, her gaze focused on the flames. He cracked a smile, turning back to the fire himself. “I guess both. Somehow I think it’s better for the both of us if JT doesn’t have to witness any of my pathetic attempts at dozing off.” He glanced at her profile. “What about you?

“Can’t.” She ran her fingers through her hair, her tone completely neutral, but something about her single word answer made Bright uneasy. He stole another side glance at Dani, her expression unreadable, as she was continuing to stare into the flames, almost too careful not to look at him.

He hummed in response, unsure what to say next. The quiet, once something they could comfortably share, was now awkward, heavy and filled with unspoken questions.

She chewed the inside of her cheek, in futile attempt to vaporize the words crawling up in her throat.

“Why did you call JT and your lawyer that night and why…not me?”

Bright dropped his chin, gazing down at his hands. The question was hanging over his head for five months now and he felt strangely relieved that finally, she had hit him with it.

“Because I didn’t think you’d trust me. I know you said you would, and I know you wanted to, but I still felt you couldn’t.”

His words slapped her almost physically, burning her face like the flames she was sitting so close now to. Her lips slightly quivered, but she couldn’t say anything.

“It’s why you went after Sophie. You needed proof,” he quietly continued. “And I don’t blame you for that, Dani. I owe you everything. You cleared my name and saved me from going to jail. I think you…really wanted to believe me, but you needed to know for sure.”

His words pained her, but she couldn’t argue. As always, his profile was spot on. Because deep down, she believed him; she always did. But it was a gut instinct, based on a feeling she wasn’t ready to legitimize. Yes, Dani needed to have tangible proof, something that backed up her blind trust in him, because her irrational faith in him scared her.

“I told you I have issues with trust,” she said tacitly, lowering her gaze.

He nodded. “Yes. You can’t really go there anymore.”

Dani looked at him, surprised. “How the _hell_ do you remember anything from that night?”

“Surprisingly, I remember all of it.” A faint smile curved his lips. “Until you knocked me out, that is.”

She let out a puff of air, rubbing her face. “So you remember you also told me I could trust you. And I did. But you –“ she sighed, Bright reading the frustration in her voice “- you stopped talking to me. I know what happened with Eve was horrifying, but you never once asked me to listen to you.”

Her words clenched his chest. Bright looked at her, but she avoided his glance. 

“You told me about her sister and the girl in the box, and you also told me you don’t want to talk about it, and I get it, I mean, I understood, but -” she bit down her lip “- I told you stuff I don’t usually blurt out in the open and I guess I expected that in return. You said I could trust you, but…yeah, I guess you know me pretty well after all; I needed proof, because you weren’t giving me any.” She was hoping Bright wouldn’t detect the hurt in her tone.

For a while, he didn’t say anything, as he was quietly processing her words. He cleared his throat. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I just thought that…the less you get sucked into my world, the safer you’d be.” His soft voice made her shift in her seat and hesitatingly look at him, needing proof that he meant what he said. His look saddened her to the core, as did his trembling hand, because she could read him, too; he actually believed every word of what he said.

She let out a soft sigh and felt the tension that vibrated between them slowly dissipating. She wanted to still his hands but pressed her own between her knees instead. “How’s Ainsley holding up?”

Bright chuckled, throwing a small pebble in the flames. “Surprisingly good, actually. She’s writing a book, something her lawyer and all her therapists also encourage. And everyone at Bellevue loves her. With her charm and our mother’s lawyers, she’ll be out in no time.”

Dani glanced at him. “Have you…talked to her? About everything?”

His smile faded quickly as he shook his head in defeat. “She keeps repeating her temporary insanity narrative over and over again and I think she’s starting to believe it herself. I tried to talk to her about dad and Mr. Boots, and some other memories from long ago, trying to figure out her stressors, but she shuts me out immediately. I don’t know how to get through to her.” He clenched his fist, trying to control the tremble.

Her cool fingers gently reached out and covered his knuckles; her soothing touch startled her, but immediately, he felt a familiar sense of calm, something he only felt when she comforted him. Something he rarely felt lately.

“She’s your sister. I know you’ll get through to her eventually. She trusts you.” She hesitated, “and so do I,” she added quietly, squeezing his hand she still covered with hers. He brushed his thumb over her palm and smiled softly, his gaze wandering from the flames to their weirdly entwined hands.

“Bright?”

“Yeah?” His gaze swept up to her face, to the dancing flames casting shadows on her features.

“I don’t need to be safe. And I don’t want to be kept in the dark,” she said firmly as she looked into his eyes. He slowly nodded. Finally, the silence they shared was something warm again, something familiar. As the tension melted away, she felt her body relaxing and a welcome feeling of drowsiness was creeping up in her bones. She stifled a yawn.

He smirked and gently pulled her up. “It’s late. And who knows what Gil has in store for us for tomorrow.”

She rolled her eyes good-naturedly and stretched her back bones. “G’night Bright. Get some sleep.” She turned on her heels, to the direction of her tent.

“Actually…“ - his hesitating voice stopped her- “can I ask you a favor?”

“Sure.” Dani eyed her curiously, studying his sheepish expression.

“I, uh, might need some help with my restraints. You mind?”

A light laughter bubbled up in her chest. “Talk about déjà vu,” she grinned. “Sure. Let’s tie you up.”

Bright raised an eyebrow but kept his comment to himself. As they approached the tent, the downright boisterous sound of JT’s snoring hit their ears. Dani’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Jesus, is that even legal?” she whispered, covering her mouth to suppress her laughter.

Bright just shrugged. “Oh, that’s just white noise for me,” he grimaced.

They slipped inside the tent, careful not to make too much noise as they tried not to tumble over the bags and each other. The tent was definitely not designed for more than two people. Bright wriggled himself out of his jacket and laid down in his sleeping bag, zipping it up to his chest. He grabbed the two ends of a bulky rope that was led out of the tent and wrapped around the thick trunk of an adjacent tree just outside their tent. He held them out for Dani. She eyed the dangling ends skeptically and sighed, trying to assess how to best position herself for the maneuver.

The tent seemed awfully small just about now. She couldn’t secure the rope around Bright’s wrists standing above him and he came to the same realization too. He nervously coughed.

“It’s okay, I think I can manage…“ he whispered as he reached for the rope, but Dani quickly waved him off.

“It’s fine. We’re on a team building after all,” she sighed and lowered herself, positioning her knees on either side of his torso, careful not to promptly sit in his lap. She leaned over to grab one end that was split in two and carefully wrapped it around his wrist. As she was securing it into a knot, her thick curls fell forward, brushing over Bright’s face.

“Sorry,” she murmured as she quickly tried to put them back behind her ears unsuccessfully, a hint of nervousness coloring her tone.

The faint scent of coconut and wood smoke reached Bright’s nose and it took a lot of willpower for him not to lean into her. He also fiercely tried not to let his senses be completely overwhelmed by her body’s close proximity as she was hovering above him, her face just inches away from his, his body trapped between her knees.

“What?” her whisper quickly tore him from his dangerous train of thought. “You’re not complaining about my cold hands?” She raised an eyebrow, smiling absentmindedly as her eyes were fixed on finishing the knot.

“Given the position I’m in, I don’t think it’s a good idea to piss you off right now.”

She looked at him and smirked. “Damn right.” For a moment, their eyes met and Dani quickly glanced away, grabbing the other end of the rope.

_She’s nervous too._

His throat went dry. They haven’t been this close, since…they’ve never been this close physically before. The overwhelming effect her body had on his, on _him_ , surprised him; but then again, it didn’t. He’s been attracted to her, but he could perfectly handle it on a day-to-day basis, on crime scenes, in gloomy conference rooms, over Styrofoam cups of tea. He never _laid_ under her before, though. Her curls never tickled his face before. And he sure as hell never felt her warm breath sweeping over his jaw. He swallowed hard as his throat felt suddenly very dry.

She finished tying the other knot, gently tugging on it to check its resistance. She lightly brushed his wrist with her thumb in the process, the small sensation of his warm skin making her cheeks slightly flush.

“I think you’re good,” she murmured, inspecting both her handiworks carefully and when there was nowhere else to look, she finally settled her glance on him. He tugged both ends of the rope, now tied neatly and firmly around his wrists and nodded.

“It’s not too tight, is it?” she asked.

“No. It’s perfect, thank you,” he whispered, risking a glance into her eyes. That was a bad idea, because if he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have noticed her eyes turn a couple of shades darker. But he did and now there wasn’t one comprehensive thought left in his brain.

She tried to move, she really did, but she remained completely frozen. Every cell in her brain screamed at her to get up and bolt, and every molecule in her body pulled her to him like a magnet. She felt her lips go dry and licked them abstractedly, noticing his eyes flickering downwards. She had to move. She had to…

Suddenly, a loud grunt startled both of them, as JT turned over in his sleep, disrupting his steady snore, but then once he settled again, he resumed. Dani felt a strange combination of discontent and relief. She carefully shifted her weight from one knee and lifted her left leg over his torso, freeing his side and slowly, careful not to bump into anything, she rose up.

“See you in the morning,” Dani murmured as she turned around and quietly unzipped the tent.

“Night Dani. And thanks,” he whispered, his voice hoarse, his gaze following her out.

She took a deep breath from the chilly air and walked briskly to her tent. It was definitely time to call it a night.

xxxxxx

_In hindsight, as life was slowly bleeding out of her, Dani Powell wished she’d listened to every molecule in her body instead of her brain that night._


	2. ...Until It Isn't Anymore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dani and Bright team up for a good old Scavenger Hunt, but the game goes sour. To say the least. Part 2 of 3.

“Morning Sunshines!” Gil couldn’t suppress a smirk as his eyes wandered from one of his team members to the other. They all came in different shapes and sizes, for sure, but they did have one striking similarity in common this morning: all four of them looked like hell, emerging slowly, drowsily from their tents, one by one; hairs rumpled, bones cracking, expressions disgruntled.

He lowered his lips to his steaming mug, sipping the fresh coffee contently.

JT growled as he reached for the JetBoil, checking for water. “Need coffee.” He grabbed a mug sitting on the edge of the fire ring, poured some hot water in it and mixed it with three teaspoons of Starbucks Via. Just as he was about to take the first sip, a hand snatched the mug from him, catching him completely off-guard.

“That’s _my_ mug, thank you,” Dani mumbled and before JT could protest, she took a long gulp from the hot liquid, immediately pulling a face. “I didn’t think coffee can taste any shittier than the one at the precinct.”

“That’s what you get when you’re greedy,” JT snorted, reaching for another mug, while shooting deadly glances at Dani. Just as he was preparing his – second – coffee, Edrisa’s shrill voice cut into the bleakly crisp morning.

“Just two spoons, thanks JT!” she plopped down, squinting expectantly at JT.

Dani chuckled, as she watched her partner begrudgingly stirring the liquid, then handing the mug over to Edrisa, who wrapped her fingers around the hot titanium.

“Anyone else? Apparently I’m your designated barista today.” JT snarled, eyeing his team members.

“Well, since you offer so nicely, how could I resist?” Bright cheerfully patted the other man’s back as he sat down next to him, knowing full well that he was playing with fire now, quite literally. Just as JT was about to open his mouth to say something surely pleasant and courteous, Bright wriggled his finger. “That’s the least you owe me after last night’s acapella you gave in our tent.”

Dani snickered, nodding over her mug. “I second that. What the _hell_ was that, Tarmel?”

“Hey,” he pointed a finger at her, “it’s called obstructive sleep apnea and it’s no joke, alright?”

She nodded, trying to keep her face straight with little success. JT’s eyes narrowed.

“And besides, how the hell do you know that? Were you in our tent last night?” he tilted his head with a sly grin.

Dani nearly missed a beat. _He was sleeping_ , she thought. _Wasn’t he?_

“Are you kidding? You basically drove away all wildlife from this area with that sound,” she managed to retort. JT rolled his eyes and turned back to the JetBoil, finally making his own coffee.

Dani risked a quick glance towards Bright, who caught her eyes. A soft, sheepish smile curved the edges of his mouth and the slightest hint of surprise arched his brows. She was obviously avoiding giving a straightforward answer to JT and that made him intrigued. Because… why not? It’s not like they were doing anything out of line yesterday. _Or were they?_ He rubbed his forehead. He wasn’t nearly caffeinated enough to go there.

“Okay, as much as I enjoy this comedy roast, it’s time to get back to business,” Gil cleared his throat, putting down his empty mug. Just as he expected, heavy sighs, accompanied by tired looks were his team’s unified response. “Based on the weather forecast, we have five to six hours before rain hits us. That should leave plenty of time to finish our final task, pack up and head back to our cars.” He slowly pulled out the now-notorious folded piece of paper.

“Ladies and gentlemen, let me present you our final team building exercise, The Treasure Hunt,” he dramatically cleared his throat again.

“ _In this game, the teams of two need to find the hidden treasure with the help of clues and proper coordination within specific time. Teamwork is vital to ensure that the enterprise runs at optimum levels; with all its parts functioning like a synchronized, well-oiled machine. This can best be achieved with good teamwork, in which both participants, feeling valued and appreciated, strive for their best results in harmony with their colleagues, for the good of the enterprise – and of course themselves.”_ Gil folded the paper back neatly.

“Can we burn this after we’re done?” Dani asked eagerly, pointing at the paper in Gil’s hands.

The Lieutenant ignored her question and continued, “This will be a very special edition of this classic game…think of it as treasure hunt meets scavenger hunt meets murder mystery-type of game - “

“Meets pain in my ass,” JT whispered, earning a chuckle from his teammates.

Gil glared at him. “As I was saying, this will be a very special edition of a classic team building exercise, tailored just to your interests, because that’s how insightful your boss is.”

If he was expecting praise, he wasn’t receiving any.

“Anyway,” he added, “you’ll be paired up and work in teams of two; your job is to find clues all over the appointed area and from these clues, you need to reconstruct a notorious murder case then come up with the whodunnit. You’ll have a maximum of two hours to find all the clues and complete the task. If you don’t, you need to come back to the base and bear the humiliation. However, being the generous boss that I am, I will still give you a chance to make an assessment of the killer or killers even if you don’t manage to find all the clues. Points will be deducted, though, from your overall score.”

“We have points?” Bright raised his brows and muttered under his breath.

“Time to pick out the teams.” Gil pulled out another piece of paper, tore it in four parts and started scribbling down their names with a pencil. Once he was done, he crumpled the paper bits and shuffled them in his hands. He then turned to Edrisa.

“Dr. Tanaka, do us the honor and draw the teams.”

Edrisa squealed, “Oh wow, this is actually exciting!”

“No it’s not,” JT mumbled.

Edrisa closed her eyes and poked around Gil’s hands, missing it completely.

“Edrisa, you can open your eyes, the papers are folded,” Gil said with a patient voice.

The medical examiner finally pulled one piece out of his palms and unfolded it.

“JT,” she giggled and looked at JT cheerfully. JT let out a heavy sigh.

“Aaaaand….” Edrisa’s hands flew back immediately to Gil’s palm, snatching another piece and she quickly unfolded it. “Edrisa! Oh, that’s me!” her smile waivered just the tiniest bit and looked at Dani. “Lucky you!”

JT snapped his head towards her. “Hey, I heard that!”

“All I mean is Bright probably has like an encyclopedic knowledge of all the murder cases that ever occurred. This is unfair advantage!” Edrisa protested.

“Yay!” Dani uttered sarcastically, trying to hide her genuine content. Which annoyed her. Very much. She glanced at Bright, who just sipped on his coffee, a smile curving his lips upwards.

“Great! We have the two teams. Powell with Bright and JT with Dr. Tanaka.” Gil announced, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. “The games will begin in about thirty minutes, that leaves you plenty of time to finish your coffee, grab a bite and to pack up your gear and disassemble your tents.”

For once, the team did as they were told, gulping down their remaining coffee and eating their respective granolas and apples (or, in Bright’s case, another cup of coffee) and quietly began dismantling the tents, stuffing all their camping gear away. As instructed two days earlier, they brought a second, smaller backpack with themselves and now packed some food and water in it.

Dani checked her phone. “Shit,” she murmured, realizing her portable charger failed her yet again, leaving her battery on 15%. Not that reception was steady up where they were, but still. She shoved it in the side pocket of her rucksack and strode back to the fire ring, their meeting point. Bright was already there, waiting for her. Gil led them to their first mark, a yellow and white-striped small square with a white circle in the middle, painted on a tree next to the small stream they used to refresh themselves. This was their sign marking their path they needed to look for along their hunt. They waved goodbye to JT and Edrisa, who were already briefed and were now heading the opposite direction.

Dani couldn’t believe it, but she actually felt giddy with excitement. Instead of being slumped in the seat of the precinct’s stuffy conference room or bent over some horribly disfigured corpse in some abandoned factory building, they were outdoors, breathing in the crisp air, taking in the glorious fall colors of the Catskills and about to embark upon an actual scavenger hunt, which she loved playing with her cousins and nephews when she was a kid.

“You really like this game, don’t you?” Bright smirked and gently bumped his shoulder to hers to get her focus back. Her gaze snapped to him, startled. “How did you…”

He shrugged and smiled. “You looked up and sideways left. Which, according to some studies, generally means you processed some remembered imagery, or sounds. And you smiled a little, which means you were thinking about some pleasant memories.”

Dani rolled her eyes, but her smile never vanished. “As annoying as this habit of yours can be, it will hopefully win the game for us.” She looked at him, then hesitatingly added, “and yes. I loved to play treasure hunt when I was a kid. I think I still do.” She tapped the sign on the tree. “So let’s get to it!”

Bright nodded. They scanned the area on the ground and sure enough, Dani spotted an unusual object sticking out from under a patch of fallen yellowish green leaves – a postcard. She bent down and grabbed it.

“Greetings from Arlington Heights,” she raised her eyebrow questioningly. Bright studied the card.

“Huh,” he turned the postcard to its front and back. The old postcard showed the Arlington Heights community high school, with Gil’s characteristic writing written on its back:

_Looking for your next direction? Go to the place where you find your reflection._

_Yours truly,_

_Mary Kellerman, 12; Adam Janus, 27; Stanley Janus, 25; Theresa Janus, 20; Mary Reiner, 27; Mary McFarland, 31; Paula Prince, 35._

“That’s gotta be another stream or small pond or something,” Dani wondered out loud. Bright nodded. “It can’t be the stream near our camp site though.”

“I think we passed by a pond yesterday, about half a mile from our base.” Dani said, pointing west. Bright nodded in agreement. “Let’s check it out.”

They resumed their pace and she glanced at Bright. “I’m guessing the names and numbers represent the victims and their ages. But Arlington Heights? Rings any bells?”

Bright shook his head. “Other than it’s a Chicago suburb, not much else. Based on the stamp, the postcard is from the 80s. So I’m guessing we have the timeframe and location for the murder. But that’s not helping so far. I mean, Chicago area in the 80s…” he shook his head. “We need at least one more clue to narrow it down. And then maybe another one to solve the crime,” he grinned.

Dani chuckled, successfully evading a puddle of mud. “Look who’s all cocky today. Got a goodnight’s sleep?” she asked carelessly, but immediately realized that referring to last night was probably not the most effective way to stay on focus. She quickly ran her fingers through her hair and fixed her gaze on the ground.

“I did, actually,” he said quietly, stepping over a tree trunk that was obstructing their path. He looked back at Dani and extended his arm. She slipped her fingers in his palm and he grabbed her firmly, helping her hop over the trunk.

“Good. That’s…good,” she managed to stay. She didn’t know why but felt best to avoid his gaze. She scanned the area in front of them instead, to catch any signs of a pond nearby. After about five minutes of walking and dissecting the possible victims’ list, Dani’s observational skills seemed to pay off as they finally caught sight of the glistening surface of a small pond. They circled around the shoreline after identifying their yellow-white mark on the ground and carefully inspected the densely grown cattails. However, after ten minutes of hovering and nearly falling in the water, they came up with nothing. Bright stood still and absentmindedly tapped his chin with his index finger. Dani smiled to herself; she knew that stance. It didn’t surprise her that Bright gave the same intensity of attention and focus to a plain game as he did to solving murder cases.

“Go to the place where you find your reflection…” he mumbled to himself. “Go to the place…” The tapping stopped. “Hey Dani?”

“Yeah?”

“We need to get on the water somehow. That’s the only way to see our reflection.”

Dani sighed. _Gil and his sense of humor._ She walked up to Bright and gazed at the water, then back to the shoreline, assessing their possibilities. There weren’t any usable resources and definitely not enough time to build some kind of a floating device from scratch that they could use to reach the middle of the pond, however small it was. Besides, if it weren’t for the three lonesome waterlilies floating on the surface, it looked like there wasn’t really anything, besides their reflection, to see there. She squinted. Indeed. Nothing more than those three waterlilies, which looked suspiciously fake and suspiciously arranged, making up an almost perfect triangle.

“The lilies!” Bright exclaimed, coming obviously to the same conclusion.

“…they look like they were positioned there,” she nodded. “But I think we can get to them without getting into the water.” Dani pointed to the cattails, some of them grown about ten feet high.

Bright grinned. “We might just earn extra points for your original execution, Detective Powell.”

Dani laughed, shaking her head. “Flattery won’t get you anywhere Bright. But chopping off some of these thicker stems might.”

They quickly got to work, scanning the edges of the water for the highest grown cattails with the thickest stem. Once they found their ideal candidates, they managed to chop them off with Bright’s Swiss pocketknife. Now all was left to do was to somehow fish out the three waterlilies, or at least bring them closer to the water edge to grab them. They succeeded with the first two, but the third one floated farther to the middle of the pond, making the longest cattail they used barely reaching the edge of the lily’s leaves.

“Shit,” Bright murmured, after several unsuccessful attempts. Dani let out an exasperated sigh. “What now?”

Bright scratched his stubble. He hesitated, as Dani raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “I think one of us either has to dive in or…”

“…or one of us leans in while the other holds him steady,” Dani finished his thought. She sighed. It seemed that physical contact with Bright was quite trending within the last twelve hours of this team building trip.

“If you drop me, you’re going down with me.” she murmured, her threat only a half-joke. Bright nodded. They tiptoed to the edge of the water, the closest point to the lily they could reach from the shore. Bright positioned himself behind Dani, his hand nervously encircled her from behind, getting a firm grip on her waist. Her breath got caught in her ribs for a split second, anticipating the contact but still startling her, much like it did the previous night in the much-too-crowded tent. She grabbed the longest cattail stem and leaned forward, her upper body now hovering nearly above the water.

“Don’t let go,” she muttered as she reached out, trying to catch the lily and angling it towards them. He tightened his grip around her waist in response. She positioned the head of the cattail behind the lily and guided the floating plant gradually, cautiously towards them. They both held their breaths; Bright didn’t look up, concentrating on his grip on her waist and trying not to concentrate on the feeling of her lower body flush against his at all.

“Gotcha,” she whispered, as she slowly moved the cattail to the side. Bright looked from behind her shoulders. The lily was now floating near the rim of the water, within her reach. She bent down and grabbed it, tossing it out on the shore. They both exhaled with relief. He quickly let go of her and stepped back, gathering the other two lilies, already drying on the shore.

“Nice one, Gil,” he snickered, as he carefully removed a laminated card from each lily, attached with a safety pin. Each piece of paper contained one letter.

“ _C…K…N.”_ Dani turned each one over, but only the one with the letter N had something written on its back:

_Your next destination’s bark is bigger than all the rest. Towering above all others, it rises in the west._

“Let’s put the letters in order. Based on the direction clue I’d say N is the last one.” She put down the card on the ground and shuffled the remaining two in her hands. “CKN? KCN? What is that? Some kind of abbreviation?” She rubbed her forehead, trying to stimulate her brain to dig up some relevant info, bits of memories that perhaps were there. Or weren’t. She glanced at Bright who crouched down to the cards, his brows furrowed.

“CKN…that could be Cancer Knowledge Network or any number of things I have no clue about, but –“

“Wait – are you suggesting there are things you might know nothing about?” Dani’s teasing voice made him roll his eyes and snicker. He gestured towards the cards. “By all means, enlighten me with your bottomless well of knowledge, Detective.”

She smirked in response and squatted down next to him, switching the first two letters, the order now being K,C,N. “I know I’m not Dr. Tanaka, but this rings a bell from toxicology reports,” she sighed, looking at the cards intently.

“As it should. KCN is the formula for potassium cyanide,” Bright grinned at Dani, “I think we have a clue for our MO.” He sprang up, energized. “We won’t need any more clues after our next one.”

Dani shot him an incredulous look. “O-kay. We still need to get to it somehow.” She turned over the last card and re-read the riddle out loud: “ _“Your next destination’s bark is bigger than all the rest. Towering above all others, it rises in the west._ Thank God that’s a no-brainer.”

Bright raised an eyebrow at her in surprise. “Really? My first guess would be the largest tree around, which, for me at least, would be quite difficult to pinpoint around here.”

A satisfied smile plastered on Dani’s face. “ _Towering_ above all others? Rises in the west? I’m pretty sure that’s the Fire Tower, the highest peak of Hunter mountain.”

Bright chewed the inside of his cheeks. “Okay, this sounds reasonable, but what about the bark? That’s definitely referring to some tree. Unless…” he didn’t finish his sentence, just nodded in defeat.

“…unless it refers to wood, because then it means the structure of the tower.” Dani smiled at him, enjoying the sweet taste of victory. It felt good to be his equal in this game, to match his skills with her own. It reminded her of their professional partnership and friendship, which she had missed sorely in the last couple of months. She shot him a genuine smile. Yes, Dani Powell thoroughly enjoyed their game.

Bright returned her smile with his own. He couldn’t recount the last time his brain was so free of the usual companionship of his demons. Maybe it had to do with being outdoors or reconnecting with friends. Or maybe it had something to do with a distinct coconut and wood smoke scent that still lingered in his memory.

Bright grabbed his water bottle and took a big gulp. He wondered what Dani thought about their close encounter the previous night. Because the way she avoided giving a straightforward answer to JT about her presence in the tent, the way her gaze immediately flickered away from him once the subject of last night came up, the way her body tensed in his arms while she tried to fish out the lily…all those signs surely meant…something. But for once, his ability to make a clear assessment of the clues failed him, and he wasn’t sure whether it was because he couldn’t read her well enough, or himself.

“We need to get moving, the tower’s about half a mile from our camp site,” Dani’s voice snapped him back to reality. He tucked away the clues in his backpack.

“You think we could use some help and check whether there’s a shorter route to the tower?” he fished out his phone from his jacket. As he tapped the screen, he released an annoyed sigh. “Great. My battery’s dead. You have any reception here?”

Dani pulled out her phone and checked her signal. “Nope. No reception and about nine percent left.” She glanced wearily at Bright. “Let’s head back to base and check the trail markings. We have about an hour and a half left and if you’re as good as you say you are-“ she paused, pursing her lips, “-then we should be able to get back to camp and solve the case with the three clues.”

They picked up their pace to reach the 3500’ landmark as soon as possible, anticipating a ruthless and more accelerated vertical climbing after passing their base point. They were not wrong; once they surpassed the altitude sign and checked it for directions, the relentless climbing begun. Just as during their hike the previous day, their ascent was measurably slowed down by slippery rocks, uneven ground and lack of resilient branches or tree trunks to hold onto.

“I’m surprised Gil didn’t order a camera team to capture all this” Bright growled after a particularly nasty stretch of their pathway. “He put so much effort into the fake lilies and the riddles, why not reap the fruits of his labor?” He glanced behind his shoulders and saw Dani grabbing a tree branch and gritting her teeth, as she was putting her weight on her right leg and her right leg was clearly protesting against it.

Bright stopped. “Let’s take a break.”

Dani shook her head, her curls flying around her flushed cheeks. “No. Next junction should be close.”

She pulled herself up next to Bright and without slowing down, she surpassed him, practically climbing upwards on the particularly vertical stretch of their trail. Bright opened his mouth to protest but changed his mind. He knew that determined look of hers. If she sniffed out even the slightest hint of pity, she’d jump at his throat. With a sigh, he followed her lead.

About ten minutes of relentless climbing later, they arrived at another junction.

“That’s just great,” Dani hissed, looking at the battered wooden mark, dangling from the tree that was supposed to indicate the trail directions. The sign was half-torn and the colors of the trail markers, signaling the respective paths were next to undecipherable.

Bright picked up the mark and inspected it closely. “I think I see some yellow and white here,” he glanced back at Dani, who was bent down, massaging her right calf.

He carefully tried to avoid looking worried. “Why don’t you sit down? This might take a while.”

Dani straightened up, his forced nonchalant tone tensing her muscles. “We don’t have a while.” She grabbed the dangling sign from his hands to look at it herself. It was difficult to tell, but the yellow and white patches did resemble the trail mark that Gil provided them. She let out an irked sigh. “Even if this is our sign, we have no idea which direction it pointed to.”

They both looked around, trying to figure out which path was leading up to the tower.

“What if it’s a loop trail? We might get to the tower, choosing either directions,” Bright suggested, running his hands through his hair.

“Yeah, maybe, but we’re short on time. We should pick the shorter route.” Her gaze flickered from one direction to the other. The one on the right seemed to have a steeper path. Dani sighed. “I think that’s the one,”, pointing in that direction. Bright narrowed his eyes. Unfortunately, her logic seemed right to him: The steeper the path, the shorter the route.

“Agree. Let’s go right. But you will sit down first. There’s no point to pick the shorter trail if you can only drag your leg behind you,” he said sternly.

Dani rolled her eyes but plopped down on the ground and stretched out her right leg. As she started rubbing it, Bright kneeled down next to her. “Let me.”

He gently pushed her hands aside and started to massage her calf, his fingers drawing slow, circling motions. His gentle but firm touch immediately eased the tension is her muscles. Dani closed her eyes for a moment, relaxing under his touch. Bright’s gaze flickered to her face and smiled gently. He was glad he could ease some of her discomfort, but more than that, he was glad that she actually let him. Her eyes fluttered open and met his gaze. A soft hint of a smile curved her lips. “Thanks.”

“Anytime,” he said, not realizing he stopped the circling motion on her leg and his hand was now resting on her shin, his fingers unconsciously, lightly stroking it.

Dani gently retrieved her leg and stood up. “Let’s go.”

They resumed their ascent, following the trail leading uphill.

“So, the victims,” Dani cleared her throat, trying to focus on their case instead of her leg, “What were the names again?”

Bright pulled out the postcard from his backpack. “ _Mary Kellerman, 12; Adam Janus, 27; Stanley Janus, 25; Theresa Janus, 20; Mary Reiner, 27; Mary McFarland, 31; Paula Prince, 35.”_

“Could all of them be related? Three of them share a last name”

Bright hummed in response. “Yeah, that’s certainly suspicious. But I’d say other than the three Januses, the rest of them aren’t related. The twelve-year old girl is certainly an odd one out. Maybe the killer targeted one of them and the others were singled out to make it look like a random act. Or maybe all of them were randomly chosen. We need to know more about the motive and the MO.

“Potassium cyanide. They were all poisoned. Couldn’t it be mass suicide? Some kind of cult involvement?”

“Possibly, that would link the victims. But cyanide poisoning is always an exciting thing, because-“

Dani shot him a glare. “ _Exciting_?”

Bright laughed. “I mean it’s _interesting_ because cyanide is usually not a straightforward suspect. The early symptoms include headache, dizziness, fast heart rate, shortness of breath, vomiting – if you’re not looking for it directly, you won’t point your finger immediately and say it’s definitely cyanide. Also, it’s quite an easy substance to obtain.”

“Accessibility means basically anyone could get their hands on the poison. It doesn’t exactly narrow down any suspect pool.”

“Exactly. We need to know more about the relationship between the killer and the victims, or at least one victim. And it’s a very real possibility that the killer chose them randomly. He wasn’t keen on seeing the end results directly, based on his choice of murder weapon. Maybe the killer wanted society to pay for some unjustice that happened to him; that would explain the random vic choice, but we still don’t know whether it was actually a random choice.”

“Which leads us back to motive,” Dani nodded.

They barely noticed the changing makeup of the forest as they continued on with their hike, immersed in their conversation.

As Dani suddenly stopped short, Bright almost bumped into her. “What?” he looked at her questioningly. Dani frowned in confusion, as her eyes darted all over the place.

“Don’t you think it’s weird we could actually talk for the last twenty minutes or so without being out of breath?”

They looked around. While the scenery became decidedly more alpine, the route they followed wasn’t nearly going as strenuously uphill as it did earlier. As it should have. In fact, it seemed they were slightly descending on their path.

“Damnit,” Bright muttered, not wanting to say out loud what both of them thought.

Dani paced around, running her hand swiftly through her curls. They were definitely off the trail. They glanced around, checking the nearby trees and the ground, hoping in vain to catch sight of a trail sign, but there were no markings anywhere in sight, let alone the white-yellow ones they needed. Dani checked the ground, but she didn’t see anything standing out; the whole area was blanketed with brown mushrooms.

Suddenly, some unwanted and definitely unexpected memories flashed in her mind and she shivered.

“We should turn back,” Bright said wearily, “and find the point where we lost our trail.” _If we were on the right trail at all,_ he thought.

Dani slowly nodded, “Okay, but let me look around first”

She turned her back to him. “Maybe this is just a downhill stretch and it’ll lead us uphill again.” She walked into the mushroom field, while Bright turned in the opposite direction, trying to assess their distance from their last trail junction and the amount of time they had lost. Maybe they wouldn’t have to go back all the way, just paying closer attention to the path, instead of - -

“Aaaaah!” Dani’s loud shriek cut into the crispy quiet air, making Bright spin around. He caught sight of his partner collapsing on the ground. His eyes grew large as he practically flew to her side. Dani was lying on the ground, curled up, her face distorted in agony…and her left leg trapped in the steel jaws of a beartrap.

“Jesus,” he muttered as he threw himself on the ground next to her, assessing the damage. Her khaki trousers were already catching on the crimson red of her blood that was slowly soaking through the fabric. He gently lifted her upper body into a seated position.

Dani bit her lip hard in a desperate attempt to keep her cries from escaping her throat. The hot, searing pain she felt in her foot made her dizzy, and she felt cold sweat trickling down her spine and her face. She glanced down at her leg and saw the rusty, sharp steel jaws bored into her flesh, tearing the fabric of her pants apart, already soaked with blood. The tiniest movement in her foot made her feel the steel teeth bite deeper in her tissues and it made her head spin.

“We need to bend your leg slightly,” Bright said in a calm, steady voice. For once, he was thankful for all the camping trips he was dragged to when he was a child; for all his shortcomings as a father, Dr. Whitly did not venture with his boy into the woods unprepared. With a keen, and in hindsight, a perhaps morbid attention to detail, Bright was taught how to disengage a trapped animal, or a human body part from various trapping devices.

Bright touched the side of the steel trap. It had one piece of bent steel to the left and another piece to the right of the jaws. The center of the trap had a flat steel plate, where Dani’s foot was trapped, caught between the jaws. His eyes quickly swept up to her face and his heart clenched at the agony glistening in her eyes. It must have hurt like hell, yet she didn’t make a sound, only her rapid, hitched breathing and pale features gave her distress away.

Bright lightly touched her face. “It’s going to be okay. I will get you out of this.”

“I hope you’re not just talking in clichés,” she quipped through gritted teeth.

He chuckled softly. “I’m not. Dr. Whitly trained me well, I promise.”

“That’s reassuring,” she mumbled.

Bright quickly shifted his focus back to her foot. He placed one hand on the top of each spring and gathering as much force as possible, he pressed down hard on the springs to compress them. The springs, now lowered, relieved some pressure of the jaws, making Dani exhale sharply. Bright forced the springs lower. “Now try and slip your foot out of the trap,” he instructed, still holding down the springs. Dani put all her weight on her hands, steadying herself on the ground and slowly inched her foot out of the device, wincing in pain from the slightest movement.

Once her leg was safely away from the trap, Bright slowly took the pressure off the springs, careful to avoid the sudden snap of the jaws. He glanced at Dani, relieved that some color crept back on her cheeks. He positioned himself closer to her foot. He didn’t want to cause any additional pain, but he needed to determine the severity of her injury.

“I need to roll up your pants to see the damage,” he said softly.

Dani shook her head. “I can do it.” She was determined to regain some control over the situation. She bent over and slowly pulled up her pant leg, wet and stained from her blood. She hissed as she felt the pull of the fabric that was sticking to her injured parts. She clenched her jaw and continued to slowly roll up the fabric. Once it was above her shin, she leaned back, gasping for air. Bright glanced at her sympathetically and his gaze swept back to her foot.

Seven tiny, crimson stained holes were drilled into her flesh by the jaw teeth, just above her ankle. While it looked grim, the injuries didn’t seem too run deep. Something else bothered him, though.

“Thankfully, it looks like the teeth weren’t that long, the tissue damage shouldn’t be to severe. But we need to get you to a hospital as soon as possible, I don’t want to risk any infections because of the rusty steel.”

“Okay, let’s call a cab then,” she cracked, wiping the cold sweat from her forehead. “But only after I kill Gil.”

As if on cue, a drop of hit her temple, then another one her nose. They looked up at the sky.

Bright sighed. _This was bad._ They could forget the game; now it was all about getting Dani to safety.

“We need to get back to base. With any luck, JT and Edrisa are already back and we can head to the cars immediately. If not, at least we have some first-aid kit there to clean the wounds.”

Dani nodded and pushed herself off the ground, balancing on her right leg. Bright quickly grabbed her arm to help her. “What are you doing?” his tone was almost accusatory.

“What does it look like? We need to move, so I’m moving. I still have one leg that’s not punctured.”

Bright eyed her anxiously, being very much aware that her right leg was not in in its finest condition, either. He was on the verge to just pick her up and carry her but knew damn well Dani would not allow him unless they didn’t have any other choice. He sighed in frustration and put his arms around her waist to lend her support as she started hopping on one leg in the direction they came from.

Each hop made her wounded leg flame up in pain, and it made her eyes sting as she tried to ignore the lesser, but still persistent pain in her right leg that now carried all her weight. She leaned more and more on Bright for support. He practically lifted her up, trying to relieve her from her own weight, but after several minutes of listening to her suppressed winces and shudders, he had enough. He stopped abruptly and without a word, he bent down slightly, hooked his other arm under her thighs and swung her up firmly but carefully.

Dani opened her mouth, irritated and ready to protest but the sudden alleviation and weightlessness of her legs made her exhale in relief instead. She glared at him, her face now almost resting on his shoulders. He was well aware of her stare but ignored it and fixed his gaze deliberately on their path. Dani reluctantly slung her arms around his neck. They continued their path quietly, listening to the raindrops, now pouring down steadily on them.

“Hey, um,” Dani cleared her throat, lightly touching the back of Bright’s neck with her entwined fingers. “Thanks. For, you know. Freeing my leg from a beartrap.”

Bright shot her a sideways glance.

“And, uh…for picking me up. I’m sorry that I found a new waffle place the other week. It’s not exactly helping this situation now.”

He smirked in response. “You look great. I mean, uh, you are in good shape,” he added hastily.

Dani smiled in his collarbone, but her breath got caught when she felt Bright’s legs buckle under her, as he slipped on a wet patch of leaves. He managed to keep their balance, but they had to stop. Because of the intensifying rain wetting the ground and making it more slippery with each step and with their path still going decidedly downhill, it became increasingly difficult to carry on this way. Bright slowly eased her to the ground and straightened up immediately, stretching his shoulders. Dani looked at him, quite impressed by his strength to carry her for that long without a break. He pulled out his water bottle from his backpack, offering it to Dani first, then taking massive gulps.

Bright rubbed his forehead. “You should check your phone, maybe there’s some reception here. We need to call the others. We should have been back to the second junction by now and it’s nowhere in sight. And once we reach that, the road will get very steep downhill and I won’t be able to carry you, not to mention that it’s too slippery.” He sighed in defeat.

Dani nodded, fishing out her phone again. To her surprise, she still had about 6% left. Not that it was to any use. She pursed her lips.

“No reception here either,” she glanced up at Bright. “We need to go on. I can still use my other leg.”

Bright shook his head, “And what if you slip and fall? I’m not saying this injury is lethal but you can do bigger damage to it, and to your right leg too, if you fall on it hard.”

“If you carry me and we both fall, we both can break our legs and whatnot. If it’s too difficult for me, we’ll stop, okay?”

Since Bright couldn’t come up with a reasonable counterargument, he reluctantly stuffed his bottle away in his backpack, unaware that one of the KCN letter clues slipped out of its pocket to the ground.

He carefully pulled Dani up and wrapped his arm around her waist again. They continued hopping and slipping in slow, small steps, grabbing onto anything that seemed remotely resilient on their path downhill.

“Do you think Gil deliberately messed up the mark at the junction? For the sake of the game?” Dani asked, glancing at Bright.

He shook his head. “No. I think when he hid the clues yesterday, the marks were all in place. I’m guessing it was some coyote or other animal that tore it off while trying climb up on the tree or something. Maybe a black bear, who was smart enough to avoid the trap.” Bright smirked, as Dani rolled her eyes. She welcomed the teasing, because it distracted her; for short moments, she was actually able to keep her mind off of her leg. Both legs.

“I can’t believe we didn’t win,” she muttered in a resigned voice. Bright squeezed her waist lightly.

“Hey, you underestimate our team. We still have time to figure out something. Probably several hours,” he chuckled, hopping them over a rock. “I wonder when they’ll start looking for us, though.”

“Too bad we don’t know how much time has passed. But I think there’s still half an hour until the two-hour mark, so maybe they wait another hour or s-“ Dani’s musing was interrupted by Bright’s abrupt halt.

“Did you hear that?”

Dani turned around to where Bright was pointing to. They heard loud cracks of tree branches, and the distinct sound of footsteps approaching them from behind the densely grown trees.

“Maybe JT and Edrisa messed up their junction too,” Dani mumbled, waiting for a clear visual. Finally, a tall figure emerged from behind the oaks, stopping shortly as he caught sight of the two of them.

“Oh, hey there!” he greeted them, with an uncertain wave, clearly dumbfounded by their presence. He approached them slowly, maneuvering expertly on the slippery ground.

Bright quickly swept his gaze over him; White male, probably in his late fifties, wearing a ranger uniform that has seen better days. His thick, greyish-ginger beard hid most of his features, but his uncharacteristically large greyish blue eyes stood out. He stopped short a couple of feet away from them, his eyes narrowing on Dani’s injured leg.

“Can I help you?”

Bright slicked back his damp hair and took a step closer to the man. “I think we missed our trail junction and we need to get back to our base, to the 3500’ altitude sign”

The man shook his head slightly, readjusting his battered ranger hat. “I see. That’s quite a bit of walking you got ahead of you then. You alright, miss?” he eyed Dani.

She nodded hesitantly. “I ran into a beartrap.”

“Oh my,” the man sounded taken aback, “sorry about that. Must’ve been one of those abandoned ones. I search the area regularly for those, we can’t get rid of those poachers.”

Dani nodded slightly, her lips tightly shut.

The man cleared his throat. “Anyways, you are about a mile and a half off. But I don’t recommend you hiking back alone with your…condition. Things get slippery when wet.” He hesitated, shifting from one leg to the other. “I, uh, can help you folks find your way back.”

“We would really appreciate the help,” Bright smiled politely, extending his arm, “I’m Malcolm Bright.”

The man shook his hand. “Scott Bremer.”

“Dani Powell, NYPD.”

Bremer’s eyes flickered to her, almost startled. “NYPD? We haven’t seen many of you around here,” he mumbled, fidgeting with his ranger badge. “What brings you here?”

“Ah,” Bright waved his hand, “just a game of Treasure Hunt.”

Bremer nodded contemplatively. “Well then, we don’t want to cause you any more trouble officers. That beartrap is bad enough.” He cleared his throat again. “You know what? I think it’s safer if we bring you to our cabin. It’s about a quarter mile away from here. We can get something for your leg, Miss, and we can arrange a transport for you.”

“That would be amazing, thank you.” Bright let out a relieved sigh. Dani nodded slowly, shifting her weight uncomfortably. Somehow, another detour didn’t seem like the most compelling idea to her. But then again, slipping, falling and breaking her leg didn’t, either. She was starting to get tired and soaked and it didn’t seem like the rain would stop any time soon.

Bremer stepped closer to her, and Dani reluctantly put one arm on his shoulders and her other on Bright’s, instinctively shifting closer to his partner. She was tired and cranky, that’s all.

They started walking in the direction Bremer pointed them.

“So you’ve been a ranger for how long?” Dani asked, glancing at him sideways.

“All my life, really,” the man chuckled. “Ever since I was old enough to work.”

“When did you move here?” Bright asked casually.

Bremer looked at him bewildered.

“You’re from the Midwest, right?”

“How did you…”

Dani silently chuckled. _Here we go._

“Oh,” Bright shrugged, “It’s what I do. I’m good at guessing things.”

Bremer slowly nodded; his voice uncertain. “That you are. I’m from Nebraska. My wife and I moved here about twelve years ago. We wanted to be closer to our son.”

Dani made a mental note to herself to ask Bright about the Midwest thing later, because at the moment, all she could concentrate on was the increasing pain burning in her left leg. She slightly shuddered from the chill running up and down her spine. She really hoped that cabin wasn’t too far away. Bright felt Dani’s weight leaning on him more, signaling her growing fatigue. He gently squeezed her waist in reassurance.

“How far is it to the cabin, Mr. Bremer?”

“Oh, we’re almost there. See that line of oaks there? The cabin’s right behind it. You just hold on a little longer Miss.”

Soon, they caught a glimpse of a small wooden cabin behind the impressive oaks. Dani sighed in relief. At last.

Bremer helped them up the porch stairs and released Dani to open the doors to the cabin. He went inside and gestured them to follow. Bright shot a quick glance at his partner before resuming his supporting grip on her waist; she looked paler to him and a small bead of sweat was trickling down her temple. His concern was growing. They needed to clean her leg wound as soon as possible.

Bremer led them inside the modest lodge and gestured them to sit on the padded bench next to a worn sturdy table, making up the small dining area. Bright lowered his partner down on the pads, while Bremer hastily pulled a chair to them for her to rest her injured leg on.

“Scott, is that you?” They all turned their heads and saw a tall, slender woman emerging from the kitchen area, wiping her hands in a dish cloth. She was clearly startled by the sight of the strangers and put down the towel on the back of a chair, after neatly folding it in two.

“This is my wife, Joanne. Joanne, this is Malcolm Bright and Officer Powell. From the NYPD,” Bremer gestured towards them as he quickly pulled off his hat, now fidgeting with it in his hands.

 _Why is he nervous around his wife?_ Bright quickly dismissed his instinctive approach, concentrating on the task at hand, the task being Dani’s injury.

“Detective Powell.” Out of habit, Dani quietly corrected Bremer. “Hi. Sorry to barge in on you like this,” she added sheepishly, eyeing the woman.

“I found them in the woods, they got off track. Miss Dani, ehm, Detective Powell got caught in a bear trap,” he added with a short cough.

“Oh my,” his wife exclaimed, as she leaned down to take a closer look at Dani’s injury. “You need to rest, dear. I will get some antiseptic to clean this. In the meantime, would you like some coffee? Or tea?” she glanced at them.

Dani hesitated; she was getting cold from her wet clothes, in fact, so cold that she was now shivering constantly. Bright looked at her sympathetically, then turned to the woman and smiled.

“Thank you, Joanne, tea would be wonderful.”

Joanne’s gaze lingered on them for a moment, then turned around and lightly touched Bremer’s shoulders. “Give me a hand, love.” As they retrieved to the kitchen, Bright turned to Dani.

“Catching a cold _and_ developing an infection is not a good combo. We need to get you out of your wet clothes.”

Dani was ready with a comeback, but as another shiver ran down her spine, she just nodded instead, feeling her energy draining by the minute. Bright gently peeled the jacket off of her, putting it next to her on the bench. He shot a hesitating glance at her, because she still had a dark grey, long-sleeved shirt on (and probably a bra underneath that Bright chose to ignore for the sake of staying on focus) that was also damp and didn’t help the situation.

“Do you have extra clothes in your backpack?”

Dani shook her head. “It’s okay. I’m good.”

Bright looked worriedly at her, but since he didn’t have anything on him that could help her, he just nodded. His gaze wondered around the cabin. He stood up and paced around, absentmindedly clasping his hands behind his back.

There wasn’t much to see; the modest interior of the small cabin didn’t give much away about their hosts; it looked exactly how one would picture a backcountry ranger’s lodge. Besides the dining area and the kitchen, there was a small living room to their left, modestly furnished with a couch, two worn armchairs and a coffee table; another, closed room was opposite the kitchen, presumably a sleeping compartment. The place wasn’t decorated with many personal items, for sure, except for some old photos hung on the walls and displayed on the top of the sideboard that stood opposite their bench. Bright took a step closer to it, examining the pictures. All of them featured the same boy with ginger hair and large, greyish blue eyes. His eyes fell on a group photo, where the boy, now older, was pictured with a couple of other young men in their twenties posing in their hiking outfits in front of the Fire Tower, smiling in the camera. Just as Bright leaned in to take a closer look, he heard footsteps from the kitchen’s direction. Bremer approached them with two steaming mugs. Bright quickly straightened up and smiled politely, pointing to the photo.

“Is that your son?”

Bremer nodded. “Yes, that’s Thomas.” He put down the mugs on the table, sliding one to Dani, who immediately wrapped her fingers around the warm cup and inhaled the tea deeply.

“Thank you,” she said and took a long sip.

“I also brought you some Tylenol. Might help ease the pain. Unfortunately, that’s all we have for pain,” Bremer murmured sheepishly. Dani shot him a grateful look and took one pill, washing it down with the tea. It burned her throat slightly, but it was nothing compared to the throbbing pain in her legs.

Bright looked at the Tylenol package, quietly humming to himself. He then shook his head and grabbed his own mug. “Thank you. I think it’s best if we call our boss now. They might get worried about our whereabouts.” He took a big gulp, savoring the tea's mildly sour taste.

Dani fished out her phone. 3% left. She scrolled to Gil’s number and hit the call button but received no signal. “Unbelievable”, she muttered. “There’s no reception here, either.” She tiredly ran her fingers through her hair.

Bremer nodded. “Yes, I’m afraid that’s one of the downsides of living in the backcountry,” he snickered half-heartedly and stood up. “Let me get our satellite phone. It’s in my truck, I’ll be back shortly.” He turned, glancing back distractedly at Bright, whose eyes were wandering all over the place.

As soon as he left, Bright stood up and went back to the photos showcased on the sideboard. Dani gulped down her remaining tea and sank back in her semi-seated position. She was tired and she could barely keep her sight focused on Bright, pacing around.

“What is it?” she asked in a beaten voice.

“Nothing. It’s just weird that all of these photos are at least fifteen years old. There’s not one here that’s been taken recently.”

“Maybe they’re in the other rooms. Or maybe they got into a fight or something,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. She closed her eyes, trying to fight the dizziness that made her head spin around.

Bright shook his head slightly. “If they had had a serious fight, why keeping the old ones? Why not putting them out of sight?” he tapped his chin with his index finger, his eyes focused on the group photo. After a few seconds, he just sighed and rubbed his eyes. He was tired, and besides this tea, the two coffees in the morning, and half an apple that Dani practically stuffed down his throat because he skipped breakfast and lunch, his stomach was empty and he started to make up a case where there wasn’t any.

That reminded him.

“Hey Dani, I think I have an idea abou-“ he turned around and saw her partner slumped in her seat, her head tilted to one side, her eyes closed.

“Dani?” his voice grew louder, but as he was about to step closer to her, he swayed lightly. The room started to spin and he grabbed the back of the chair closest to him.

_That’s not good._

“Dani?” as he reached out to shake Dani’s right leg, he fell forward, nearly tumbling down to the ground.

A strong hand grabbed him by his arm and swung him up. Bright looked at Bremer, his eyes widened. 

“The tea,” he mumbled drowsily, as he tried to wriggle himself out of Bremer’s grip, his growing fatigue making his body limp.

“I’m sorry,” Bremer murmured, as he raised his other hand. The last thing Bright saw before he blacked out was the dish cloth, resting on the back of the chair. Folded neatly in two.

xxxxxxxxxxx

“Alright, that’s it,” Gil let out a frustrated sigh as he forcefully tapped on his phone’s screen, shoving it away in his jacket. He glanced at Edrisa and JT, who were pacing around the campfire ring. “No signal,” he stated the obvious, his voice somber.

“Where the hell are they?” JT murmured, nervously kicking the side of a tree trunk, his phone glued to his ear. Not that it was of any use.

Edrisa kept folding and unfolding Gil’s instruction list, anxiously scanning through the directions written on the paper. The joy she felt when they were the first team to arrive back at the base with all the clues and a case reconstruction was overshadowed with each passing minute, as Bright and Dani were still nowhere in sight. Half an hour passed since the two-hour mark and they still haven’t heard from them. JT let out a joke about a sudden need of a romantic detour, but after an additional fifteen, they were all on edge. They tried to call them on Gil’s satellite, but both their phones seemed to be dead.

“We need to trace their path back,“ Gil cleared his throat, trying to cover up the worry in his tone. “They probably got into a minor accident somewhere. Slipped on the ground and fell and it must have slowed them down. We need to pick them up somewhere along their route.”

“Should we split up?” JT asked, already swinging his backpack and gear over his shoulders, ready to move.

Gil shook his head. “Not a good idea at this point. We only have one functional phone.” _Even though I asked for three,_ he thought, gritting his teeth.

“Okay, so first stop: the pond,” Edrisa blinked at Gil. “Lead the way.”

xxxxxxxxxx

_Dark. Cold._

Bright blinked, as he gradually regained consciousness and his senses sent him the basic information about his whereabouts. His eyes wandered around wearily, taking in his surroundings. He felt cold concrete beneath him; there was little to no light, except for a thin line sweeping through the door over the steps, in the far end of the room.

 _Basement._ That explains the cold too. A sudden shiver ran down his spine. _Dani._

“Dani!” He frantically yelled, his gaze flickering across the room, his head pounding by his swift motions. He caught sight of her, lying on the ground about three feet from him, her wrists and ankles bound by chains. Bright swung forward in her direction, but he was abruptly stopped by his own handcuffs, connected to a thick chain that was anchored to a girder. More out of instinct than hope, he rattled the chain, checking its resilience. He wriggled himself as close to Dani as he could, and he could almost reach her. Almost.

“Dani,” he whispered this time, leaning over her, his eyes desperately taking in the sight of her. Dani’s eyes were closed, her expression pale, her body limp. But she was breathing, so he could let out his breath, too. His gaze flickered to her left leg and his chest tightened. From what he could make out in the dark, her skin around the punctured wounds looked reddish and swollen, signaling a possible infection. They need to get to the hospital.

Scratch that; they needed to get out of here first.

He sighed. Losing count on how many times he ended up chained in a basement was apparently his idea of trophy collecting.

Bright raised his head and looked around again. Nothing extraordinary caught his eyes – worn-out, decluttered pieces of furniture stacked upon each other in the far-end of the room, some boxes, a small oak table with a chair and a desk lamp, newspapers and photos scattered on it. Just a regular basement. Where they were apparently held hostage, for no reason he could come up with.

_Well, this was certainly new._

His thoughts were interrupted by a light rattling sound of chains; Dani stirred, her eyes fluttering open. She blinked a couple of times and Bright secretly envied her for those first couple of seconds, being still oblivious to their surroundings. That quickly faded as Dani’s gaze widened and started flickering around in a frenzy, finally catching Bright’s glance.

“Wh-what…” she chocked on her words, swallowing hard. “What happened?” she finally managed to whisper in a hoarse voice, her eyes still adjusting to the darkness.

Bright let out a sigh. He knew the ‘what’. If only he knew the ‘why’.

“We were sedated. You fell asleep and I was knocked out by Bremer, I’m guessing to speed things up. And now we’re here in what I believe is their basement and not their deluxe suite.”

Dani tried to sit up, but as she leaned sideways to gather some support for the movement, her pounding headache changed her mind. She touched her temple. _No blood. Good._

“You said I wasn’t knocked out? Then why is my head splitting in half?” she pinched her nose with her shackled hands. “Maybe I should’ve taken two Tylenols while I had the chance”

“That’s probably the side effect of the sedative. And dehydration. And your injury. I’m guessing you were offered the Tylenol to speed up the sedative,” Bright added in a dark voice.

Dani looked at him. “What the hell is going on, Bright?”

Bright shook his head, rubbing his face with his cuffed hand. “I don’t know. This is the first time I’m held hostage without knowing why.” He let out a deep sigh, his eyes glancing over Dani’s injury. “How’s your leg?”

Dani moved her ankles slightly that were also bound by cuffs. “Still hurts. But it’s number. Maybe the headache overrides the pain.”

Bright frowned. Numbness wasn’t a good sign. At all. He hesitatingly opened his mouth, but the loud creaking sound interrupted him; their heads snapped in the direction of the door and they saw Joanne and Bremer descending on the steps. As they walked towards them, Dani tensed up and her pulse was racing. She felt like a caged animal, facing imminent threat.

They stopped short, their figures towering above them. Bremer walked over to the desk and switched on the small lamp. Dani squinted, trying to readjust to the light. Joanne slowly crouched down to be eye level with them. She silently took in their sight, her expression unreadable. Bright waited for her to speak first.

“You’re awake. Good.” she said matter-of-factly. Just then, Bright caught sight of the kitchen knife she was holding in her right hand. He could practically feel the tremor forming in his hands but tried to still it with sheer will.

Joanne caught his glance and her lips curved upwards. She slowly, carefully placed down the knife next to her. Bright quickly glanced sideways and saw Dani’s eyes peeled on the knife.

“Mrs. Bremer-” Bright cleared his throat.

“You can still call me Joanne,” the woman said quietly. Something about her measured tone made Dani more agitated than the knife itself.

“Joanne,” Bright tried to match her steady tone, “this must be a misunderstanding. Please uncuff us and let us return to our base camp. Our team is waiting for us and surely by now they are wondering where we are.”

“Oh I can assure you, _detectives_ , that this is no misunderstanding. This is exactly what we have planned, in case the authorities finally turned up.” Joanne’s voice grew louder.

“I don’t know what you think we were doing, but we got in an accident and your husband helped us. We weren’t looking for you.” Bright tried to keep his calm composure and glanced at Bremer, who was now fidgeting with one of his shirt buttons, looking sideways.

“Please, Mr. Bright,” Joanne tightened her jaw, dropping her cold smile, “Two detectives playing a treasure hunt game? And you just happened to venture on that field? Your arrogance astounds me. You honestly expected us to believe you were just simply…lost?”

“I was caught in a beartrap,” Dani spoke up, her voice slightly shaking. “We couldn’t make that up, could we?”

For the first time, Joanne looked at her. She measured her up and down, her face again twisting into a sickly smile. “That was Lady Luck being on our side.” She turned back to Bright, her eyes narrowed, “You know where my husband is from. You know about our son.”

“I didn’t-“

“You saw the Fire Tower picture, which, I guess, is all you needed for a condemning evidence. But let me ask you this,” her voice was slightly shaking now, as emotions were clearly overcoming her. “Have you ever had to wonder for years on end what happened to your child? Whether he was still alive?” she searched Bright’s gaze, repressed anger and resentment seeping through her voice.

Bright’s mind was racing as he frantically tried to piece together all the fragments of information.

“A missing person might not be dead,” Joanne whispered, “but their loved ones die in the moment when all hope is lost. When authorities give up on your son.” She swallowed hard, trying to regain her composure. She continued; her voice now forcefully calm. “Where were his so-called friends when he went missing that night? How come they remained unscathed?” she hissed. “No one knows. But at least, we know where they are _now_.” she pressed on her last word, her smile returning, then quickly fading again. Dani shivered slightly, a cold chill running down her spine.

“And now you know, too. Not that we mind. We finally come full circle.” She reached for the knife.

 _Revenge. Not good. Not negotiable_. Bright raised his hands instinctively, his mind racing.

“Mrs. B- Joanne. We are very sorry for the loss of your son. But believe me, this is the first time we hear about him. As we said, we were on a team building trip. We got off trail. We met your husband by pure coincidence. We can’t bring your son back. But what we can do, is to look into his case and-“

A short, hollow laughter burst out of the woman. “Too little. And much too late,” she seethed, her fingers gingerly stroking the handle of the knife. “ _You_ can’t do a thing for him anymore. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be of any use. Eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. You watched us for years, doing _nothing_ ”, she practically spat, ”as we helplessly searched for him, slowly losing all hope. We were left with nothing, _nothing_ but grief.” Her voice remained eerily calm, but her hands were shaking violently. She took a moment to regain her composure and licked her lips. She met Bright’s gaze again, and the finality of her expression made Bright shiver.

“We made sure everyone got what they deserved for what they did and didn’t do for my son. And now, at last, authorities will too.” She slightly nodded in Bremer’s direction. The man hesitatingly stepped closer to Dani and grabbed her waist, sliding her away from Bright, out of his reach.

“No!” Bright swung forward, fiercely rattling on his chains, trying to get closer to Dani. She kicked Bremer as hard as she could, but her injury made her strikes powerless. She frantically tried to wriggle herself out of the cuffs, but Bremer already started tying her cuffed hand up on one of the basement pipes.

“N-no, no,” Dani kept kicking and screaming, shaking her head violently.

“STOP!” Bright screamed, “She’s useless to you. She’s already weak. There’s no satisfaction in hurting her. Whatever you want to do, do it to me,” he breathed heavily, his voice pleading as he looked at Bremer, then back at Dani.

Joanne smiled at him. “But dear, the Detective is already of so much use to us. If she suffers, so will you. God knows, we did. At least you get to be with her in the end,” her voice faltered.

She rose up and stepped closer to Bremer. “Scott, dear.”

The man nodded and grabbed Dani’s legs, pushing them down. Bright, violently fighting his restraints watched in horror as Joanne slowly stepped to Dani, rolled up her shirt and touched the tip of the blade to Dani’s bare abdomen.

As she felt the blade slicing into her skin, Dani cried out in agony, the rattling sounds erupting from her throat nearly driving Bright to insanity. Bremer forcefully pressed down Dani’s legs to stop her frantic kicking. For a split second, Dani caught Bremer’s eye, her pleading gaze boring into his. Bremer quickly glanced away. Joanne made a slow, precise cut, and after she finished, she rose up and neatly, thoroughly wiped Dani’s blood off the blade. Bremer immediately let go of Dani and stood up. Joanne looked at her.

“Sorry dear. Please don’t take it personally.” She turned her back on them and strode towards the stairs. Bremer hesitated for a second, then swiftly untied Dani from the pipe, leaving her only bound by the hand- and ankle cuffs. He inched her limp body closer to Bright, just barely within his reach. He quickly backed away and followed his wife.

Bright heard the creaking sound of the door shutting behind them, but he never looked up. His gaze was fixated on Dani, who was now quietly whimpering, her hitched breaths shaking her body, her blood trickling down her abdomen, forming gruesome patterns on her skin. Bright reached out and with his trembling hand, he pushed a curl out of her face. Their eyes locked and he felt a burning pain in his chest. Because what he saw in them was more frightening than her cries and screams; he saw quiet defeat.

The cool concrete surprisingly soothed her. She wasn’t freezing anymore. With each passing moment, the agonizing pain slackened, easing into a warm, numb tingling. Now all that was left to do was to wait for this to end.

Dani closed her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY for taking so long with this update!! Life went from crazy to shit and back, but at last, chapter 2 is here. If you've read this story so far and you're still with me on this one, please know that I'm already working on the final chapter (called Lullaby) and will hopefully update sooner rather than later.  
> Also, I appreciate all comments and look forward so much to hear from you; your words always give me a major boost for writing!


	3. Lullaby

“ _Sun is red, moon is cracked… daddy’s never coming back. Nothing’s ever yours to keep, close your eyes and go to sleep._ ”

Her soft singing, something he had never heard before, gave an eerie contrast to their bleak surroundings. Bright, slumped in a seated position, his back resting on the girdle he was anchored to, raised his head and glanced at her. Dani’s gaze was fixed on the ceiling, or somewhere far beyond, her lips softly humming the melody.

“ _If I die before you wake, don’t you cry, don’t you weep..._ ”

Bright swallowed hard. “What is that? I’ve never heard it before.”

Dani slowly turned her head towards him, her growing fatigue evident in her voice. “When my dad died, I couldn’t bear all the condolences and the it’s-going-to-be-okays.” She paused for a moment. “They were all fake to me. Because nothing was okay and nothing could ever be okay. And I didn’t want to pretend like it ever will.”

Bright listened to her intently, not wanting to interrupt her, even though he worried about conserving her energy. He was afraid that if she tired herself out, she would slip into unconsciousness and he desperately wanted to avoid that. They needed to buy more time.

“I couldn’t listen to music either… every lyric seemed like a lie to me. I didn’t want to feel better…or worse. I know it sounds stupid but the only thing that was real to me… was pain.” A short cough shook her body, and Bright glanced at her lips. _No blood. So far, so good_.

“And then I heard this song, the Lullaby,” she continued, licking her dry lips, “and this was the first thing in a long time that… resonated with me. It sounded true and somehow this comforted me. It doesn’t make much sense, I know,” a sound escaped her throat resembling a chuckle.

“It does,” Bright said quietly. He held her gaze for a moment, wondering how many more times he will be able to do that. She slowly turned her head back, finding that spot on the ceiling only she saw.

_“Nothing's ever as it seems, climb the ladder to your dreams...”_

Bright stared at his hands, only now realizing it was painted dark red by her blood, dried and forming patches of a thin, tight layer over his own skin. He felt its slight pull as he touched it. Like a glue, holding him together.

xxxxxxxxxx

“Damnit,” Gil murmured as he lifted up the dangling sign from the tree.

With the route instruction in their hands, they arrived at the trail junction leading up to the Fire Tower fairly quickly, despite the rough path leading up there. After passing the pond and finding the lilies on the shore, Gil and his remaining members of the team concluded that Dani and Bright managed to pass at least their second mark with the clue. Now, after having reached the 3500’ altitude sign and surpassing the particularly rough vertical climb leading up to the loop trail, they were standing at the tree with the junction mark that was torn in half and was barely decipherable. Gil rubbed his face. He should’ve known this could happen. The overwhelming feeling of guilt was steadily growing in his stomach.

“Is this a loop trail?” Edrisa asked, her expression a mixture of hopeful and puzzled. Gil nodded.

“It is. Both of them lead up to the tower, but one takes longer and the other one is - -“

“Let me guess. Short but steep,” JT sighed, as he took big gulps from his water. Their accelerated hike was strenuous to say the least, and while adrenaline was giving them a boost necessary to carry on maintaining their speed, they were clearly all exhausted.

Gil nodded again, his eyes darting from one trail to the other. They needed to figure out which one Bright and Dani had taken, and they needed to figure out fast.

“I guess their decision depended on how much time they used up from the two-hour frame,” Edrisa spoke up, readjusting her glasses that kept slipping from her nose because of her excessive sweating.

“You gotta factor in Powell’s competitive nature,” JT said grimly, “she’s a sore loser. I’m sure she’d done anything in her power to arrive back first and win the game. I think”- he pointed to the direction that led to the shorter trail- “they went that way.”

Gil stared at the junction mark intently. They needed to make a decision. He slowly nodded.

“I agree.”

They resumed their pace, mentally preparing themselves for the merciless ascent ahead of them. After an additional fifteen minutes of ruthless climbing, they arrived at the Fire Tower. They stopped for a minute to glance around, and despite the bleakness of their mission, they couldn’t help but be impressed by the sight that greeted them; at this altitude, the vista was simply breathtaking.

Gil quickly strode to the tower, its trapdoor being closed. He climbed on one of the platforms immediately below the padlock and searched the ground. His suspicions were proven true; the last clue was exactly where he left it the evening before, untouched. He looked down at Edrisa and JT, who were staring up at him expectantly. Gil slowly shook his head and began climbing down.

“They’ve never reached the third clue. Let’s trace our steps back and check for possible detours,” he said in a somber voice. Edrisa and JT silently nodded and followed him.

About ten minutes later, back on their route to the second junction, they have discovered a narrow path-like stretch that diverged from their trail. To their mild surprise (and relief), it seemed to be a gentler slope and not long after enjoying the break from their practically vertical descent, Edrisa’s loud shriek stopped them in their tracks abruptly. The petite medical examiner promptly bent down and snatched something from the ground.

“Is this…something?” she waived a piece of laminated card in front of Gil. The lieutenant sighed in relief as he saw the letter “C”.

“Yes. Great job Edrisa. That means they have definitely passed this point, which means they diverged from the original trail. That explains why they never reached the tower in the first place. Let’s head this way and see where they might have gone.”

As they reached a small clearing, they stopped and looked around. The tall oaks hid any further path from their sight.

“Huh,” Edrisa muttered as her gaze wandered from the trees to the ground, which was covered with mushrooms. She squatted down and inspected one closely. “Interesting,” she murmured, her fingers tracing its cap.

Gil’s eyes narrowed. “What is it?”

Edrisa shook her head lightly. “It’s just…an unusal find here. This ground is basically littered with Hebeloma syrjense. Interesting.”

JT and Gil looked at her questioningly, obviously not following her. She quickly glanced up at them. “ _Hebeloma syrjense_ is a quite distinct species of mushrooms. It’s also known as the corpse finder mushroom, because they seek a lot of nitrogen, such as is released by a decomposing body. It’s just weird to find it here, so concentrated in one place. You normally see these growing in cemeteries or mass grave sites.”

JT caught Gil’s glance and took a couple of steps into the mushroom field, his eyes searching the ground. All of a sudden, he stopped short.

“Hey boss,” he shouted. Gil snapped his head. “You gotta come see this.”

Gil quickly followed him, with Edrisa close behind. JT crouched down and pointed to the ground. Gil’s jaw tightened. It was a shut beartrap, its greyish steel color standing out from the brown field of mushrooms. He squatted down next to JT, touching the steel. It was wet from the rain, making the tint more vivid. They grey was mixed with the copper brown rust and…something crimson. Gil’s expression darkened. He glanced at Edrisa, who nodded slowly.

“Blood?” JT asked, more in a rhetorical fashion. He suspected the answer already.

Gil straightened up, pulling out the satellite phone from his jacket.

“I’m calling the Mountain SAR. We need to know if there are any cabins or abandoned lodges nearby. We might also need a backup team to help us find them quickly. And we need to track their phones.” He glanced at both JT and Edrisa grimly.

“Teambuilding is officially over.”

xxxxxxxx

She looked paler. Her breathing was still somewhat steady, which was a good sign. But she was getting sleepier, her eyes closing more often to rest. He only had a vague sense of time and no idea how much they had left. He touched her wrist, feeling her pulse. Steady, but weak. If the cut reached her spleen or liver, Bright figured it would be only a matter of time before her body went into shock. He needed to come up with something, and he needed her to stay awake.

“Hey, Dani,” he touched her temple, briefly checking for her temperature (cold) and to get her attention. She lightly stirred at his touch.

“What?” Her voice came from far away.

“The Tylenol got me thinking. Maybe it was product tampering.”

“Wh-what?” she furrowed her brows, finally turning her head towards him. _Good._

“Our murder mystery. There was this huge product tampering case in the beginning of the eighties; I remember my father being fascinated by it and he talked about it constantly. At least five or six people were poisoned and the only thing they had in common was that they’d all taken Tylenol before their death. Nothing else linked the victims.”

“Don’t tell me they were poisoned with cyanide,” Dani whispered, slightly more alert. Bright nodded.

“They were. As soon as word got out, it turned into a nationwide hysteria. No one felt safe. Johnson&Johnson and pretty much every pharmaceutical company changed their ways of product packaging because of it.”

“Did they catch the guy?”

“They did, but only based on circumstantial evidence. He never admitted to it, as far as I remember the story.”

Dani quietly hummed. “So who does something like that? And why?” she asked wearily, trying to keep her mind focused. It was getting increasingly difficult.

“Someone who’s a coward. Who doesn’t want to see the results of what he did at close range because he’d easily get distressed by it. He’d have severe depression and feelings of despair because he’d feel that he was mistreated by society at large and by those around him. He’d be driven by anger. He’d feel inadequate and would be attracted to positions of authority or semi-authority. And there’s usually a precipitating stressor for this type of crime. Maybe loss of job, or wife, or a… relative.”

His last word hung heavily in the air, their minds wandering upstairs to the cabin. They were both quiet.

Bright’s gaze was lost in the gloomy semi-darkness surrounding them. Yet another basement, yet another twisted and sick case, only this time, he had no idea that there was a case in the first place. And this time, he was practically unscathed, while his partner and friend was lying next to him, slowly bleeding out. The irony of their situation made his stomach turn and his heart clench.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

Dani turned her head back to him again, a genuine surprise coloring her voice. “What for?”

“If I hadn’t guessed the Midwest thing and I hadn’t poked around the photos, we wouldn’t have ended up here. I’m sorry that I was being…me.” His voice was broken, and he was unable to look at her face. At least he wouldn’t have to live with this guilt very much longer.

Dani gathered all her strength to lift her cuffed hands and touch Bright’s. “Don’t,” she whispered, her voice small, “don’t….do that. If I hadn’t run into a beartrap, Bremer wouldn’t have found us. If I hadn’t corrected him about the detective thing, he’d probably just escorted us back to the camp. But I did. None of this should have happened and it happened anyway. It just happened. I guess… Lady Luck really isn’t on our side.” she smiled a bitter half-smile, Joanne’s words echoing in her ears.

His mind was frantically trying to find some way out of this. _There’s got to be a way._

“None of this should have happened,” he mumbled her words quietly. “None of this…” he paused. “None of this should have happened, because Bremer is _not_ a killer.”

Dani glanced at him.

“He wanted to help us in the first place, he only changed his mind _after_ he grew suspicious of us. And even then, he was the one who pulled you the chair to rest your leg on. He said sorry to me before he knocked me out. He cut you off the pipe to keep you close to me and that wasn’t for some sick pleasure, unlike what Joanne had in mind.”

Bright’s voice grew more animated. “He doesn’t want to kill us, but he is afraid of his wife, that much is clear by his constant fidgeting when she’s around him. And he probably feels remorse because of the past. I’m guessing it was somehow because of him that his son ended up in New York and hiking in the Catskills. I don’t know how or why. But I’m sure he feels he’s obligated to her wife…to support her acts of revenge.” He looked at Dani, “we need to get through to him and somehow convince him to turn against Joanne.” He breathed heavily, his mind racing.

“Bright, I don’t - -” Her quiet whisper was interrupted by the loud clattering, as Bright started to shake his chains violently.

“What are you doing?” Dani raised her voice.

“This might be our chance.” he whispered, before he burst out in screams. “Bremer! Bremer!” he was yelling so loudly that Dani shut her eyes in discomfort, as her head started pounding again.

Soon enough, they heard heavy footsteps from the far-end of the room. The door opened and to Bright’s relief, they caught sight of Bremer and not Joanne, quickly descending on the stairs and approaching them.

“What are you doing?” he hissed, his tone agitated, after he realized Dani was still alive. Bright tried to sit up as upright as he could and bore his gaze into Bremer’s.

“Scott. We know you don’t want this to happen. You wanted to help us. You wanted to guide us back to our base. You wanted to ease Dani’s pain.” Bremer quickly glanced sideways and started backing away, so Bright raised his voice. “Please. I know you feel like you owe your wife, that she deserves to revenge the loss of your son, but you know it, just as much as I do, that no amount of killing will bring Thomas back.” The older man visibly flinched at the mention of his son’s name.

Bright continued, his voice softer, “You don’t want this. You know that taking innocent lives will not make anything better.”

Dani unconsciously held her breath, looking at their captor.

“I’m…I’m sorry. I can’t help you.” Scott stuttered, unable to meet Bright’s gaze. “She’s been through so much and I…this is the only way I can be there for her.”

“You know that law enforcement will eventually catch up on you. They will be looking for us, they are probably already searching the area.” Bright calmed his voice, pleading to the man’s sanity, “You can’t help Joanne, Scott. No amount of killing will ever be enough to fill the void. But we can help you. And you can change this pattern. You can end this. You always have a choice.” His exact words from barely a day ago echoed in his mind.

Bremer glanced at him, a mixture of sorrow and angst clouding his features. For a moment, Bright saw the hesitation is his look. The older man shook his head slowly.

“I’m sorry Mr. Bright. I can’t. I can’t betray her.” he whispered and slowly turned away. He glanced at Dani, who caught his gaze. He dipped his chin.

“Scott, don’t,” Bright raised his voice again, as he watched the man walking away. “Scott! You can save us. Please!” His voice grew desperate as the distance grew between them.

A click of the door, and it was once again shut. They were once again alone.

Bright stared into the nothingness.

xxxxxxxx

She honestly thought that dying would somehow be more…spectacular. That all those images from her happy childhood would flash in front of her eyes. That her daddy would stand at the other end of some white tunnel, waiting for her and she’d be happily bouncing towards him. Or the complete opposite: she would fight violently for her last breath, she wouldn’t accept her fate, she would go in agony and torture and pain and violence.

But not…like that.

In a cold basement in the Catskills, after a treasure hunt going sour.

Not like that, feeling nothing.

No grand visions, or last-minute insights on her life.

No pain anymore. No agony. No fighting.

She just felt a soothing cold, a numbness that encompassed her like a protective blanket. It was so peaceful. Everything was quiet.

Except for Bright.

He kept disturbing her quiet. With his hopefulness, and his frantic attempts to escape this, and his voice, and his freakishly blue eyes, and his soft features she knew now by heart. He was the only thing disturbing her peace. He was the only thing that her mind just wouldn’t let go of. If only she could let it go, let _him_ go, it would all be finally good. But he was there, and his presence was like an unwanted anchor, tying her to this basement.

If only she could shut him out of her mind. If only he stopped beating her heart with his existence. Then it would all be finally good.

She cleared her throat, her voice raspy and dry. Not that it mattered.

“Malcolm - -“

Bright’s head snapped to her. “No.” he said firmly.

“Wh- -“

“No,” he cut her off again, shaking his head almost violently, “you won’t call me that. I know what you’re trying to do, and no. You will not say goodbye to me.”

“Bright, please, I…” Her voice was small, almost pleading.

“Dani, don’t,” he was gritting his teeth in desperation, “please. If you still want to say whatever you want to say now, after we’re through all this, say it. But not now and not as a goodbye.”

“Why are you doing is?” her voice was barely above whisper, as it was getting increasingly difficult to gather any strength to argue.

“Because we barely knew each other on the Burkhead case and you were afraid that I was going to kill myself,” he spoke quietly, wanting very much to lay his hand on top of hers, but she was barely within her reach and he couldn’t. “Because you didn’t push me away when I knocked you down at the precinct. And you trusted me, and you never turned your back on me, even when you had your doubts.”

He bore his eyes into hers, his words slightly trembling. “Because that’s what we do. We keep each other alive.”

She felt her eyes sting, as she saw his, glistening with dread. If only she could make him feel the peace she felt. Make him understand that it’s okay.

She sighed and closed her eyes.

She was so tired.

Bright swallowed hard. Her pulse was getting weaker, her breaths more rapid and shallow. She had to open her eyes and fight. He needed to change his tactic.

“If you die, I’m next, remember? So fight for me, Dani.”

Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at him. His gaze was pleading, coloring his clear blue eyes a couple of shades darker. It struck her that she would never get the chance to know him better, to learn all about him. Of all the regrets in her life, Dani Powell never thought that this will be the one thing keeping her in the cold basement, conscious.

“You’re really annoying Bright.” she whispered, offering him a vague eye-roll.

Bright exhaled with relief and smiled, however small of a victory he had just earned. She was still with him. Maybe Lady Luck would finally cross over to their side after all.

_Or maybe not._

As they heard the click of the door once again, they both looked up at the stairs. This time, they saw Joanne descending and heading towards them with swift but quiet strides. Bright swallowed hard as he caught sight of the knife again.

“Change of plans,” she said coldly, “we’ll put you out of your misery sooner. In fact, right now seems like a good time.”

 _Something scared them. Gil must have found us_. Bright’s pulse quickened. He needed to buy them time. _Where the hell is Bremer?_

“Joanne, let us go. Please. We can still help you negotiating a deal. Nothing irreversible has happened yet.” He was certain his empty words wouldn’t change Joanne’s mind, but now it was all about stalling her.

Joanne snorted. “Oh Mr. Bright. Again, I’m offended by your arrogance. Do you honestly think I have no idea what will happen to us once they find us? There will be no deal. No one will help us. No one ever did.” she added bitterly, her gaze sweeping over to Dani. Bright followed her glance and felt his panic rising.

“This doesn’t - -“

“Shut up.” Joanne waved him off and stepped to Dani, who was looking at her with dazed eyes. Bright was shaking his chains again with violent force, but Dani heard his cries coming from far away. She remained still and had a vague sense of her body being jerked up. As she felt the cold blade touching her throat, for a brief moment, a flash of hot anger washed over her, her will to live lashing out one last time, but it vanished just as quickly.

She closed her eyes.

A gunshot. Two.

Something heavy pulling her down.

Dani opened her eyes, seeing Joanne’s body lying on her, the knife slipping out of her lifeless hands and landing on the ground with a soft clink.

She looked up. Bremer stood above her with a Sig Sauer, his hands trembling as his gaze was fixed on his wife. He finally looked at Dani.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered and raised the gun to his temple.

“Bremer, don’t - -“ Bright shouted, but the sound of the gunshot cut him off. Bremer fell on the ground and once again, it was just Dani and him. Alone.

Bright glanced at her, his hands trembling, his cheeks flush, his expression a mixture of shock, terror and relief.

“Did she…” he stuttered, eyeing her neck. She slowly shook her head.

Something unusual caught her eyes. She lifted her head and saw faint reds and oranges flashing through the open door of the basement. She heard footsteps.

 _He is going to be okay_.

Dani’s breath left her, curving her lips in a soft smile. She closed her eyes.

_It will all be finally good._

xxxxxxxxx

_Intraabdominal injuries. Diagnostic laparoscopy. Blood clots on the anterior surface of the stomach and the left lateral segment of the liver. Open laparotomy. Grade five blunt hepatic trauma. Leg cellulitis._

Bright stared at the crisp white wall of the ICU, his mind being only capable to repeat the same sentences over and over again. His coffee, the second or third or thirteenth had gone cold in his hands, serving more as an accessory than a beverage designed to be drunk.

He wasn’t sure exactly how much time had passed between the CPD swarming the basement and them being put on an air ambulance, transporting them to the New York Presbyterian. Time only started ticking again after Dani was resuscitated. Even though Bright had no injuries, aside from minor symptoms of dehydration and side effects of the sedative, he didn’t respond well to the request of leaving Dani’s side. He didn’t respond to it at all. Gil managed to persuade the medical personnel to ‘just regard them as one unit’.

Blindfold tent pitching, campfire, treasure hunt, beartrap, Tylenol, basement; resuscitation, ICU, surgery, blood clots, complications, damage control surgery.

And now, the wait.

Bright rubbed his face, the prickling of his stubble giving him another indication on how much time had passed since they arrived at the hospital. Not that he needed any. Because every passing hour was crucial in Dani’s condition, so he knew exactly what time it was and how many hours have passed since the second surgery. Eleven hours and thirty-four minutes.

Adrenaline and the constant feeling of dread kept him alert for the first twenty-four hours of their hospital stay. Dani’s initial surgery was soon followed by a damage control surgery that was necessary after complications rose due to delayed bleeding. But now, there was nothing left to do but wait.

He felt his remaining energy rapidly draining. He barely even noticed Gil, JT and Edrisa by his side; the only person whose presence he was acutely aware of was Michelle’s, Dani’s mother, sitting in the same spot next to him for the last twenty-two hours. Neither of them spoke really; they just stared in front of themselves, occasionally muttering thank you’s to coffees offered and brought to them, and mumbling polite refusals to any attempts of sending them home.

But now, Michelle needed to head home to check on her niece and Bright was once again alone, his mind playing the same sentences over and over and over again. _Intraabdominal injuries. Diagnostic laparoscopy. Blood clots on the anterior surface of- -_

“Malcolm, dear, you need to shave.”

His mother’s voice was something he didn’t expect to hear in the cold waiting room of the ICU. He raised his head in her direction. Jessica’s deep green designer dress, stilettos, impeccable makeup and a cloud of Chanel no.5 that followed her everywhere didn’t really blend into their bleak surroundings.

Bright sighed, running his hand through his hair. “What are you doing here, mother?”

Jessica arched her eyebrows. “What does it look like? I came in to check on you.”

She sat down next to him, squeezing his shoulders, lowering her voice. “Malcolm, there’s nothing you can do in the next couple of hours. You need to go home, and you need to take care of yourself because you might wind up back here horizontally.”

Bright let out a dry chuckle. “I’m fine. Nothing happened to me,” he added bitterly.

“That’s not what I heard from Gil and that’s certainly not how you look. You are dehydrated, you suffer from the side effects of the sedative and when was the last time you have eaten something and taken your meds?”

Bright shrugged and resumed his position, staring blankly in front of him. Jessica sighed. She had some idea of the sorrow and dread his son must have felt and her heart grew heavy for him. She touched his chin and gently turned his head to her, so that he would finally look into her eyes. Her heart ached. His large, clear blue eyes, usually restlessly twinkling with energy were now bloodshot, hollow and expressionless.

“Malcolm,” she softly brushed his chin with her thumb, “go home. Do it for me. Or her.”

Malcolm lowered his gaze. “No one is here. If I go, she’ll be alone.”

“She is not alone. She has a whole medical unit watching her every breath. And me.” she added, offering his son a smile.

Bright finally glanced up, confused. “You..?”

Jessica rolled her eyes dramatically. “Yes, me. I think I can manage sitting in a hospital waiting room. This isn’t my first time, you know,” she added pointedly.

Finally, a small smile curved Bright’s lips. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. And besides, I have my magazines and my phone. Don’t worry.” She demonstratively pulled out said magazines from her Louis Vuitton handbag, placing them into her lap.

Bright hesitatingly stood up. “Call me if - -“

“… anything happens. I will.”

Bright nodded and slowly turned on his heels, still somewhat reluctant to leave Dani behind.

“And don’t forget to shave, dear.”

xxxxxxxxx

Exactly nine hours and twelve minutes later, she woke up. Instead of seeing a white tunnel and her dad, she saw the white wall of a hospital room and her mother. And she was happy.

Michelle sat next to her, holding her hand, like she never wanted to let it go. After she eventually did and left the room, Bright walked in. He looked pale. Tired. Haunted. But his smile made up for it.

“Hey,” he whispered, slowly walking to her bed, like he wasn’t sure whether it was allowed.

“Hey,” she greeted him back, her voice still raspy. For a while, he just stood there, taking in her sight. She looked so small on her hospital bed, her dark curls spread out on the pillow, her features still pale. Her full lips dry and cracked. But she was breathing steadily, on her own, and this was pretty much everything he wished for in the last couple of days.

She caught his glance and narrowed her eyes.

“You look like hell. Did something happen?”

Bright chuckled. He dipped his chin and took a tentative step closer to her. “I think I slept for four hours straight. Apparently, it doesn’t look good on me.”

She smiled softly, his expression mirroring hers. He caught her eyes and he opened his mouth, to tell her that…

To tell her _what_ exactly? That he was glad she had made it? That he was sorry? That he’d never forget those moments, hours, when he thought she would slowly die next to him and he wasn’t able to do anything about it? That there wasn’t one particle of her face that wasn’t carved into his brain?

He closed his lips and instead, he gently touched her fingers. He immediately felt hers slipping into his palm, wriggling its way so that their fingers would intertwine.

“Still cold,” he mumbled.

Her warm smile made up for it, though. “Shut up.”

They remained like that for a while.

xxxxxxxxx

He both dreaded and anticipated this moment, as he finally opened the door to her room and walked in. Dani glanced up and shot him a genuine smile. Gil walked towards her, his hand awkwardly squeezing a bouquet of flowers.

“Hey kid,” his warm voice was filled with relief and anxiousness as he nervously placed the flowers on her bedside table, arranging and rearranging it. He hesitatingly let go of them to look in her eyes.

“I’m…I’m sorry.” he blurted out, dropping his gaze to his hands, now empty and having nothing to keep them busy.

Dani tilted her head. “Well, I gotta admit, the beartrap and the basement seemed like a bit of a stretch, but…” she smirked, her teasing voice making Gil chuckle with relief.

He shook his head, his voice now more somber, “I can’t believe I got you into all of this. Never in a million years have I anticipated… you and Bright running astray and uncovering a decade-old case whilst at it.”

“There’s a reason we’re NYPD’s finest, right?” she tried to maintain the light tone of the conversation, because she sensed that her mentor was ridden with guilt. And she desperately wished he wouldn’t. But his last remark peaked her attention. She chewed the inside of her cheek, glancing at him tentatively.

“So, what’s the story here?”

Gil sighed. “Well, apparently, local police were already keeping an eye on the Bremers, but they had nothing on them. So when we called for help, they pointed us straight away to their cabin and were immediately sending backup, assuming the Bremer’s were armed.” He sat down in the chair next to her bed, as Dani was listening to him intently.

“Joanne and Scott Bremer, originally from Hastings, Nebraska, moved to New York after their son, Thomas Bremer, a student at NYU disappeared during his second semester. According to local police, his father was the one who insisted on Thomas applying for college in New York, but his mother was desperate to keep him home. Joanne Bremer had lost three children due to childbirth complications and was overprotective of her only living son. But Thomas, probably wanting to get out of the Midwest, applied to NYU and got in. During his second semester, he took a hiking trip in the Catskills with some of his friends and never came back. All five of his friends, who were with him that weekend, were questioned and cross-examined thoroughly, but their stories matched; they all went to sleep after their long day of hiking and the next morning, they found Thomas’ tent empty. They searched the area but didn’t find him. They contacted the Catskills police and SAR, who searched for days, weeks, but they came up with nothing.” Gil paused, clearing his throat. Dani swallowed hard.

“After the incident, the Bremer’s immediately relocated to New York. Bremer applied for a park ranger’s job, hoping he might learn something about his missing son’s whereabouts. Meanwhile, Joanne was checked into multiple psychiatric facilities due to severe reoccurring mental breakdowns. After some treatments, she was deemed somewhat stable, as long as she was kept on medication. But Joanne kept lashing out against the authorities, she repeatedly sent letters of complaint to the local police, urging them to resume the search, calling them inadequate, threatening them. She turned to the local press, who picked up the story, but since there weren’t any new developments, the media soon lost interest in the ‘Catskids mystery’. At first, police tried to reason with Joanne, but after a while, they just ignored her letters and empty threats.”

Gil shifted in his seat uncomfortably. “Anyway, two years after Thomas Bremer went missing, one of his classmates and hiking buds, David Hobbs disappeared from his apartment one night. The case was never solved. And one by one, throughout the course of nine years, each five of the original hiking team members went missing. Nothing suggested murders; no bodies, no fingerprints, no motive. Nothing linked them except that hiking trip they took together in 2008. Local law enforcement, of course, knew about the link and kept a close watch on the Bremers, given Joanne’s mental history and repeated outbursts against the police. But since there were no bodies, there was no crime. Just a pile of missing cases, going cold. Police couldn’t do a thing except keeping them on their radar. But they had nothing. Until two days ago.” He frowned, glancing at Dani.

“The bodies…” Dani wondered out loud, “Joanne said something, while we were down there. She was convinced that we somehow discovered the bodies. We had no idea what she was talking about.”

Gil cleared his throat again, his voice grim. “She was not completely wrong. Remember the field where you ran into the beartrap?”

Dani slowly nodded. Something there was…off, she had felt it in her bones. She just couldn’t put her finger on it then and she couldn’t now.

“When we were retracing your steps, Edrisa discovered something there. The field was full of a very distinct type of mushrooms called Hebeloma syrjense. Also known as the corpse finder.”

Dani shuddered. She suddenly remembered. _His father’s grave. The cemetery. Blanketed with brownish mushrooms._

“We found the graveyard”, she whispered, her voice hoarse.

Gil nodded. “After we found you, police searched the area with Edrisa’s help and soon enough, they started digging up the bodies one by one. Each five of them was buried there,” he said gravely. “They’re still being examined to determine their cause of death.”

Dani frowned. “What about Thomas?”

Gil shook his head. “His body hasn’t been found. His case remains unsolved.” Dani nodded again, feeling her chest tighten at his words. Despite everything the Bremers did, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for them. Grief without closure was, to her, the closest thing to purgatory and perpetual state of agony she could imagine.

“I’m sorry kid.” Gil’s voice snapped her back. She looked at him and shook her head softly.

“Don’t. You saved us…me. Twice now.”

The lieutenant slowly nodded, smiling warmly at her, a silent thank you in his glance. He stood up. “You better get better soon, Powell. We need you. “ he squeezed Dani’s hand lightly, then turned on his heels.

“Hey boss, just a thought: the next time we play treasure hunt, you might wanna place the trail marks somewhere…less subtle.”

She couldn’t see his face, but the way he stopped and shook his head, she knew he was smiling.

xxxxxxxx

After three days, Dani was transferred from the ICU to step-down care. As her condition was slowly but steadily improving, they all settled into an easy routine. Gil, JT and Edrisa resumed work, but made sure that one of them stopped by at her hospital room every day. Bright visited her every day. Sometimes, he only had time to stop by and snuggle in some good coffee and waffle from ‘that new waffle place’ across the precinct; sometimes, he stayed for a couple of hours, discussing new and old cases, Ainsley’s case, or getting into heated arguments over pretty much anything.

Sometimes, he just sat next to her bed in comfortable silence, his fingers lightly grazing over her wrist, partly to check her pulse and partly to just reassure himself that she was, in fact, there. This was barely a conscious touch and more an instinctual habit he developed, and as such, he didn’t pay attention to it. But she did. Her recovery was slowly moving along, and while she still had at least two weeks in the hospital, she was getting impatient. Despite Michelle’s constant pleading, she started terrorizing JT and Gil with wanting to get back in the saddle. Gil held his ground and promptly refused, but JT cracked under the pressure and surrendered.

Three days before her scheduled release, he stormed in and pulled out her work laptop, along with some files and put them on her nightstand. He turned around to look at Dani. Her face was practically beaming. 

“Background checks only. And if anyone asks, and by anyone I mean Bright, you got bored and you wanted to play solitaire,” he pointed a finger at her threateningly.

Dani nodded. “So, fill me in,” she ordered, nodding towards the files. JT sighed, pulled the visitor’s chair begrudgingly closer to her bed and reached for the folder resting on top the pile. They spent a good hour and a half working and Dani felt life slowly returning to her veins. She felt useful again. Whole.

“Hey, how’s Tally holding up? D-day is approaching, right?” she glanced up from her screen. JT smiled nervously. “Day after tomorrow. She constantly cries for no reason and screams at me for no reason. I really hope she goes into labor soon, cause if she won’t then I will.” he grumbled but couldn’t suppress his smirk. Dani smiled at him, because she knew. Tally and him, they were ready. JT checked his watch and cleared his throat.

“Time’s up. Bright will be here in about ten and he’d kick my ass if he saw this,” he waived his hands around the pile of documents scattered on Dani’s bed. He stood up and gathered the files, stuffing them away in his backpack. He was heading to the door, but then turned around.

“Speaking of the devil; guess what our boy did the other day”

Dani raised her head.

“He called for backup.”

As the door closed behind him, a slow smile spread across Dani’s face.

xxxxxxxxxx

He slipped in quietly, his eyes adjusting to the dimmed lights in her room.

It was well past visiting hours, and well before. But nurse Hannah, his favorite, just gently shook her head as she watched him pass by with an apologetic smile on his face. Bright liked her, because she always snuggled in an extra pillow for Dani, knowing she couldn’t sleep on just one flat hospital pillow. He liked that she paid attention to detail. He did, too. He knew that around 3 pm, she drank her first afternoon cup of coffee, just plain black. So, whenever he came around that time to visit, he never forgot to bring one for her from the nearby coffeeshop, famous for their double shots. She glanced at her watch and smiled. 2:55 am was a rather unusual time for a visit, but this was a rather unusual young man, as she had learned by now.

He pulled the chair close to her bedside, his eyes taking in the sight of her. Her face, smoothed and relaxed, indicated that she was sound asleep. He felt his shoulders loosen up. The steady rise and fall of her chest calmed his breathing. His hands reached out to touch her. He hesitated, not wanting to risk waking her up. He finally grazed his index finger over her pulse, barely touching her, but still feeling her skin, her flesh under his fingertip. He slowly retrieved his hand, letting it fall on her bed, inches away from her hand.

Bright wasn’t exactly sure what made him get out of his apartment and drive to the hospital in the first place; for a couple of days now, he actually let himself believe what the doctors were trying to convince him of: that Dani was now stable, she was out of the woods (both proverbial and literal), that she was recovering. She would be released tomorrow. Yet somehow, he couldn’t stay in his apartment that last night. He was restless, more than usual, and unable to decipher his own thoughts.

Watching her breathing had been the most powerful tranquilizer for him in the last couple of weeks. Just watching her being _alive._ The memory of her lying in the basement absolutely still, while Joanne held the knife to her throat flashed in his mind. And as he listened to the steady beeping of her vital signs monitor, his hand began to tremble and suddenly a wave of anger washed over him so violently he shuddered. He was angry, and to his genuine shock, he realized that he was angry _at her_.

How could she just lie there and not put up a fight, or at least, _the very least_ , plead for her life when Joanne was ready to kill her? How could she just accept fate like that? The resigned look in her eyes, her serene expression, her defeat. Now it all felt like betrayal to him. She was ready to give up and disregard everything and…everyone. Did she not know how much her life was worth fighting for?

Suddenly, it came back to him.

 _You weren’t going to let him do that, right? Right_?

Her shaky, desperate tone as she held his chin up to meet his eyes. Her anger.

_Of course not._

Of course it was a lie. And she knew, even back at their very first case together, she _knew_ and she was angry with him. As he felt his anger slowly dissipating, something clicked. He finally understood something he could never quite comprehend before, at least not when it came to himself. He never considered his life to be worth anything in and on itself alone. He knew his worth – his mind, his skills, his money. But deep down, he very early on believed that without those attributes, his worth was already determined by his father, by their blood. After all, he nearly stabbed his former girlfriend. His sister slit someone’s throat. Those demons were there with him, they were part of him. And for the better part of his life, he tried to make up for it, to somehow balance it out by catching other demons. That was his worth. He never understood why he was being called reckless, when putting himself in harm’s way in life or death situations. He wasn’t reckless. Quite the opposite, actually. He was being objective. He measured his life’s worth against those situations, and never once did he found it weighing more. He was being objective. Or so he thought.

But what if, maybe, just maybe, the anger he saw in her eyes when he was ready to throw his life away was the same anger and desperation he felt watching her letting go of hers? What if he was wrong all this time and she saw something he never saw in himself? What if his life was worth as much to her as hers was to him? What if calling for backup a week ago was a decision he made because he didn’t want to betray her?

Maybe he defined his worth wrong.

“We keep each other alive,” he whispered, his fingers finding hers. She stirred lightly in her sleep. He glanced at his never-better hand. It laid still.

xxxxxxxxxx

As she slowly slid into her worn leather jacket, Dani let out a content sigh. She felt like herself again. She glanced around her hospital room one more time, ready to close the door on it forever.

“Got everything?” Bright asked, swinging her enormous duffle bag over his shoulders. She smirked. “ _You_ do. I told you I can carry that.”

“Yeah yeah. You just carry yourself. Baby steps, remember?”

Dani rolled her eyes, folding her discharge papers in two. “Let’s get out of here. Please.”

He let her lead the way, his eyes flickering to her legs. Her walking has improved, but there was still a small hitch in her stride. It would take some time to completely heal, but she was getting there.

They got to his car and Dani was secretly glad that Bright was the one taking her home, because Michelle was slowly driving her insane with her overprotectiveness. It was as if she, Dani, had regressed into her 12-year-old self while being with her mother, who was overlooking her every move, fussing over her every attempt to regain her former life, including working. Thankfully, Michelle had her car in service and couldn’t pick her up, and suggested to call a cab, but Bright offered a ride and she more than gladly accepted.

Once he put her bag in the trunk and helped her getting in the passenger seat, they finally rolled out of the hospital parking lot.

“Hey,” Bright cleared his throat, “do you mind if we take a slight detour first?”

She glanced at him, tilting her head. “Sure. What could go wrong?”

He chuckled and rolled his eyes. Quite soon, Dani realized where they were heading but she remained silent. About ten minutes later, they arrived in front of Bright’s apartment building.

“I just have to pick something up, it won’t take too long.” He helped her out of her seat and they headed to the entrance. Once they were inside the building, Bright noticed the all-too familiar sign on the elevator.

“Shit,” he murmured, glancing worriedly at her. Four floors seemed like a lot now. For a brief moment, he toyed with the idea of picking her up and carrying her all the way, but he just as quickly dismissed it, fearing her merciless retribution.

Dani shrugged. “It’s okay. I’ll manage.” She shot a hesitating look at him, chewing the inside of her cheek. “Can I… uh, can you…help?” she mumbled nervously. He smiled and put his arm around her waist, as she slung her arm around his shoulder, a now all-too familiar motion for the both of them.

“Here we go,” Bright sighed and steadied his grip on her waist. “Ready?” Dani nodded.

A good twenty minutes later, they arrived at Bright’s door. As he opened it, a familiar sound greeted both them.

“Hey, Sunshine!” she walked over to the parakeet’s cage as Bright made his way to the kitchen island. She stuck her finger inside the cage and stroke the bird’s feather. Sunshine chirped eagerly. Dani turned to Bright, “Is it weird that she reminds of Edrisa?”

Bright laughed, shaking his head. “Water?”

“I’m good.” She heard her phone buzz and fished it out of her pocket. There was one new message from JT. As she read it, her face lit up. “Tally’s gone into labor.”

Bright turned around, a genuine smile curving his lips. “Wow. I hope I’ll be asked to be a Godparent, just so I can finally learn his real name.”

“I wouldn’t get my hopes up on either of those things.”

Bright finally picked up something from the counter and headed back to her. Her eyes dropped to the thin, square-shaped package he held in his hands. She looked at him questioningly. He cleared his throat, one hand running nervously through his hair. “It’s something I thought…you might want to have.”

She carefully opened the wrapping and pulled out a vinyl, its black and red cover stirring up some memories from long ago and some quite recent ones, too. His glance anxiously followed her every move, unsure of her reaction. Dani traced her fingers on the large block letters of the song title. Lullaby. She felt her throat closing up, her feelings overwhelming her from his touching gesture.

“I thought that…that it would be a good reminder of…how much a life is worth fighting for,” he managed to say, his eyes nervously scanning her features, trying to decipher her. Dani finally looked up at him, not knowing what to say. A shy smile curved her lips and Bright let out his breath he was unconsciously holding in.

“This is…thank you Bright.” She bit her lip, at loss for the right words, “this means… a lot.” A nervous laughter escaped her throat, finding it ridiculous to settle for ‘a lot’, when there was so much she wanted to say. Bright reciprocated her smile and dipped his chin, secretly relieved.

“Actually, what if-“ she looked at him apprehensively, her fingers fidgeting with the smooth edge of the record, “-if I would keep it here? This way, it could be a reminder…for us both.”

It was her turn now to hold her breath, unsure what reaction to expect from Bright, but hoping he’d understand. She searched his eyes. Bright slowly nodded, his expression soft, his smile honest, as he took the vinyl from her hands. Dani watched him as he strode to his record shelves to look for a worthy place to put it.

All of a sudden, she felt a rush of all kinds of emotions; her heart was beating faster, her cheeks felt warm, and she felt a sudden panic washing over her, and then she felt her stomach tighten, and then she felt nervous and excited the same time, and before she thought twice, she cleared her throat.

“Hey Bright”

“Yeah?” He finally found the perfect spot for the record and neatly adjusted its position.

“About what I didn’t say back in the basement…I meant every word of it.”

Her voice, slightly faltered, made him stand still for a moment. With his back to her, he was unable to see her face, but he needed to see her, because everything depended on whether he understood her right. He turned around to face her, unsure what he was hoping for to find. Dani was looking at him, she stood completely still, waiting. He locked eyes with her, and slowly he crossed the room, until he was standing right in front of her. He studied her face intently, his heart beating faster by the second, as he reached out his hand, and his fingers finally found her wrist, tracing the delicate spot of skin right over her pulse. A motion he had done so many times in the past weeks, only this time, he didn’t let go.

Her breath hitched from the small sensation of his light touch, as she felt his fingers gently tracing her skin, making small circles. Her gaze dropped to their hands. Dani had no idea how such a tiny, delicate gesture could unleash such a fiery storm in her veins and it almost scared her how affected she was by his touch. Her fingers had a will on their own, as she entwined hers with his, her thumb caressing his palm. She was just realizing how close he was standing to her, his scent lingering over her, encompassing her. She felt his eyes on her face, burning her skin. She felt the same kind of trance that overcame her in the tent, but this time, Dani took the risk and looked into his eyes and found that those crystal blue eyes turned so many, beautiful and deep shades darker that she never saw before. She dropped her gaze to his lips, his eyes following hers. His other hand found its way to her cheek, caressing her face, his thumb drawing small circles near the edge of her lips. Slowly, he leaned in, and his lips found hers.

Bright closed his eyes, the sensation of kissing her making him weak in the knees. He’d always been attracted to her physically, but never before were all five of his senses so completely overwhelmed by her. The feeling of her fingers, running through his hair, caressing his nape; the sound of her hitched breathing; the sight of her face, with all its beautifully soft and strong features that were etched in his mind; the smell of her alluring, delicious scent that was so completely and only hers, clouding his brain; her full and incredibly sensual lips, the taste of her tongue entrancing him, making him want more, so much more.

As he deepened the kiss, his hands found her waist, gently squeezing it, his fingers pressing into her skin through the fabric of her shirt, and as he heard a soft moan escaping her lips, it made him want more, oh so much more. His hand wandered to her stomach, slowly caressing it through her shirt, when he heard her wince, though barely audible.

“Sorry, did I hurt you?” he whispered, as he immediately withdrew his hands, searching her expression with concern. Dani shook her head.

“It’s okay, my pain threshold has gone up these days,” she quipped and kissed his chin, not wanting to break their physical contact. Bright caught her lips and wondered whether he’d be ever able to think about anything else again besides her lips.

He sank to his knees and slowly rolled up her shirt, his eyes sweeping over her flat abdomen, finding her scar; a grave reminder of Joanne’s handiwork, followed by the surgery incision. The wound was healing nicely, now reduced to a delicate, dark line. Bright touched its edge, careful not to put any pressure on it as he traced it with his fingertips. He glanced up, his eyes locking into hers. He leaned forward and lightly kissed the tender spot of her skin. He felt her goosebumps on his lips, the scent and taste of her skin proving to be an intoxicating mixture.

“Working on a new profile there?” Dani whispered, her voice raspy. She felt his smile against her skin.

“Absolutely.” he kissed her scar again and slowly rolled back her shirt. He rose up and Dani leaned into him, placing a light kiss on his jaw. Her dark curls fell forward, brushing his face. “You know, not _all_ pain is bad,” she breathed, her fingers tracing his mouth. Her words sent a jolt right to his core, making it increasingly difficult for him to concentrate on anything else, besides her touch on his skin.

“Doctor Trevors said no strenuous exercises for the next three weeks,” he whispered with a sly smile as he kissed her lower lip and ran his fingers through her silky hair, another item on his list he had wanted to do since he first laid eyes on her.

“Strenuous, huh?” she raised an eyebrow and felt her body catching fire just from the sheer…possibilities of the word. God, he was mean.

 _Two can play this game_ , she decided as she kissed his mouth, his stubble, making her way to his ear, kissing his pulse. As he felt her hot tongue on his skin, Bright nearly buckled. _Three weeks._

Her fingers found the edge of his grey shirt and as she slipped her hand beneath it, Bright’s eyes shut immediately. She was caressing his bare abdomen, the fine hairs on his smooth skin, tracing his lean muscles. She felt him tense up, and she smiled coyly. “What, cold hands?”

He opened his eyes again, boring his gaze into hers. “No. They’re yours.”

His simple, quiet words knocked the wind out of her, and she couldn’t tear her eyes away from his even if she wanted to. Throughout their acquaintanceship, she had always been able to read his emotions from his eyes: hope, restlessness, pain, fear, anger, warmth, kindness, terror, determination, loyalty, truth; and now, she saw desire, tenderness, affection and utter devotion. She swallowed hard as she felt her throat close up and she hoped that her eyes were mirroring all of those, for him to see, for him to take.

It struck her that she might get the chance to know him, all of him, after all.

Bright gently tucked a curl behind her ear. “Come on, let’s get you home.” He released her from his embrace and grabbed his keys. He shut the door behind them, only to face the broken elevator sign. Bright sighed, eyeing the stairs beneath. Without a second thought, he scooped her up into his arms.

“Hey, I can w- -“ He silenced her with a kiss.

“Shut up.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_Sun is red; moon is cracked_

_Daddy's never coming back_

_Nothing's ever yours to keep_

_Close your eyes, go to sleep_

_If I die before you wake_

_Don't you cry don't you weep_

_Nothing's ever as it seems_

_Climb the ladder to your dreams_

_If I die before you wake_

_Don't you cry; don't you weep_

_Nothing's ever yours to keep_

_Close your eyes; go to sleep._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it. Sorry for taking so long to post the last chapter, but life got in the way. Hope you enjoyed it, and if you're reading this, please know I appreciate the time you took to read this whole beast. THANK YOU. :)  
> Feedback, any and all, are always very-very much appreciated and welcome. 
> 
> Note 2: The song Dani is singing is 'Lullaby' by Tom Waits, one of the most haunting and hauntingly beautiful songs I know. It also gave me the idea for this fic. 
> 
> Note 3: The Tylenol case is real and I've read about it in 'The Anatomy of Motive' by John E. Douglas.
> 
> Note 4 - DISCLAIMER (which I probably should've posted in the first chapter, but anyway): None of these characters are mine, except for the Bremers and nurse Hannah. Everyone else belongs to FOX.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for staying with this story until the end of this chapter, I appreciate it!  
> Please let me know what you think, as always (or, more like the two times I actually managed to write something so far), I appreciate and look forward to all of your thoughts and comments! :)


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